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Ulara Nakagawa of Elephants in Japan taught me today about elephants in captivity. She specifically focuses on helping elephants who are in solitary captivity in Japan, but her organization teaches about elephant welfare all over the world.
\\nShe shared a helpful analogy:
\\nAn elephant, in captivity alone, in a small concrete zoo, is like a human being, being locked into a bathroom, not being allowed to talk to anyone, and being kept there for 60+ years.
\\nIt puts it into perspective, doesn\\u2019t it? Elephants are increasingly known as sensitive, smart, and compassionate beings who need significant stimulation and space to roam. They show signs of stress through deeply repetitive coping behaviors such as bobbing, walking back and forth, or flipping over the same toy in the same way, again and again.
\\nUlara\\u2019s investigations have not only uncovered torturous conditions in zoos in Japan but ways to make things better in the short term, midterm, and long term for each elephant. Her findings pertain to elephants in captivity everywhere, and we can all read, learn and spread the word around us.
\\nSIMPLE IDEA:
\\nRead the Solitary Elephants in Japan report on the Elephants in Japan website. Then funnel our emotions into a tiny action to help elephants in captivity. I\'ve rounded up tons of ideas in the show notes and linked to the report there.
\\nSHOW NOTES:
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