Flora's History

Birthday: March 3, 1982
Birthplace: Zimbabwe, Africa
Birth status: Wild born, orphaned when she was 2 years old
Current Height: 8' 9"
Current Weight: 10,020 lbs.
Favorite Food:  Bananas
Current Status: Residing at The Elephant Sanctuary, Tennessee.

Flora is a 22-year-old female African elephant (Loxodonta africana). She was born 1982 in Zimbabwe, Africa, and was orphaned at the age of two, when her family was poached for their ivory.

Upon her arrival in America, Flora was adopted by a circus that still bares her name. Flora performed in the circus for over 18 years, and while an assortment of human and animal friends provided some sense of a family life, she had not lived with another elephant in nearly two decades.

In 2001, Flora was adopted by Ahali Elephants, and moved from the circus to Miami's MetroZoo, where she could be with other African elephants until a permanant home was located.

An opportunity came about to return Flora to Africa, specifically to the 2,200-square-mile Mkomazi Game Reserve in Tanzania, where another captive African elephant had been successfully reintroduced into a wild herd. Ahali's founders were introduced to the idea by Dr. Daphne Sheldrick, renowned for her elephant and rhino orphanage in Kenya. But to everyone's disappointment the opportunity fell through.

Fortunately, The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennesee, decided to expand their facilities from a 200-acre habitat to an enormous 2,700-acre natural habitat preserve that can now sustain up to 100 elephants of both species (they previously only had room for Asian elephants).

As soon as Ahali learned the good news, David Balding, Flora's longtime caregiver, approached the Sanctuary and asked if there was room for Flora. The truth was there was not, so Ahali committed to raise $200,000 to add room for Flora. The Sanctuary could not say no.

Ahali established Flora’s Endowment Fund to raise the $200,000 needed to provide for her expenses at The Elephant Sanctuary.

The Sanctuary completed construction of the new African elephant house in December 2003. Tange and Zula, two African elephants from Chehaw Wild Animal Park in Georgia, were the first African elephants to take up residence at the Elephant Sanctuary.

On March 3, 2004, Flora's 22nd birthday, she arrived at The Elephant Sanctuary and joined her new friends Tange and Zula.

Keep up-to-date on Flora's adventures with her new family at The Elephant Sanctuary by visiting Flora Updates & Photos.