Science
Experts condemn India park after elephants airlifted to Japan
by AFP Staff Writers
Bengaluru, India (AFP) July 29, 2025
Conservationists and animal experts have raised the alarm after a wildlife park in southern India airlifted four endangered Asian elephants to Japan, saying the long-haul journey and relocation could impact the animals’ health.
The elephants — three female and one male — were put into specially designed crates and loaded onto a cargo plane last week bound for Osaka, a nearly 12-hour journey.
They were transported from the Bannerughatta Biological Park (BBP) in Bengaluru to Himeji Central Park, where they will spend the rest of their lives.
The Bengaluru park would receive four cheetahs, four jaguars, four pumas, three chimpanzees and eight black-capped capuchins in exchange, the New Indian Express daily said.
Wildlife biologist and conservationist Ravi Chellam condemned the move, saying wildlife parks should only keep animals that are native to the region.
“Elephants are not native to Japan nor are jaguars and cheetahs, which will reportedly be brought to Bengaluru, native to Karnataka,” Chellam told AFP.
“So, it is important to find out what the purpose of this international animal exchange is.”
There are fewer than 50,000 Asian elephants in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund, the majority in India.
In 2022, eight cheetahs were transported 8,000 kilometres (5,000 miles) from Namibia to India, followed by another 12 from South Africa, as part of a project backed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The project was aimed at reintroducing the big cat species to India’s grasslands seven decades after they were hunted into oblivion.
– ‘Frightening and stressful’ –
However, several cheetahs died soon after, raising questions about the high-profile project.
Chellam said animals are not meant merely to be “shown off” at wildlife parks.
“Modern zoos should have very clear objectives and these are education, conservation, research and recreation,” he said.
“Zoos should plan their animal collections in a manner that will enable them to meet these objectives.”
The Bengaluru elephants were trained over six months for the extraordinary trip, local media reported.
“Every day, they were made to enter, stay, and relax inside crates for three to four hours, making them acclimatised to the conditions,” the Times of India newspaper quoted top BBP official AV Surya Sen as saying.
But People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said the elephants would have nevertheless found “flying in the cargo hold of planes frightening and stressful”.
“Instead of funds used to fly animals to different countries just to be put on display, the focus can be redirected to helping protect jungles and keeping animals in their natural homes,” Sachin Bangera of PETA India told AFP.
International animal exchange programmes involving Indian zoos are not common, but do happen occasionally, Bangera added.
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