The Loneliest Elephant In The World Has Died
Hanako spent 67 of her 69 years alone in captivity at a Tokyo zoo.
A 69-year-old elephant in Japan, dubbed by animal rights campaigners as the loneliest of her species in the world, died Thursday, zoo officials announced.
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Hanako, an Asian elephant, arrived at the Inokashira Park Zoo in Tokyo in 1949 when she was just 2 years old as a gift from Thailand's government. For 67 years she lived alone in captivity in a sparse concrete enclosure.
Eugene Hoshiko / AP
Last year, a blog post describing Hanako's loneliness went viral, leading to a petition which almost half a million people signed to call for her to be released to a sanctuary.
Eugene Hoshiko / AP
However, an independent expert and zoo officials determined such a move would have bewildered the elderly animal, who knew only life in captivity.