In 1987, Delhi was captured in Vietnam and transferred to the zoo in Ústí nad Labem at the age of 3-4 years. Her female partner, Kala, died in 2018 and she has been alone ever since. She has now been rehomed to the French elephant sanctuary, Elephant Haven

According to Elephant Haven, the sanctuary in France to which Delhi will shortly be moved, the zoo’s managers, animal keepers and city officials realize that elephants are social animals, and that continuing to keep Delhi alone with no realistic prospect of reuniting the animal with another elephant is something unsustainable and beyond standard practices.

“For this reason, after careful consideration of all aspects and consultations with experts in the Czech Republic and abroad, we rejected the idea of reconstructing the existing facility. After three long years, we are more than happy we managed to find a suitable facility for our female elephant.”