Dear John,
Tembo was born in the wilds of Mozambique, where she would have grown up surrounded by her familial herd, exploring vast landscapes, learning from her elders, and forming deep, lifelong bonds. But that life was stolen from her.
As a young calf, Tembo was captured, torn away from everything she knew, and shipped to the United States. In 1979, she arrived at the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, Texas. She has been there ever since—confined, isolated, and denied the freedom that is her birthright.
For decades, the zoo has failed to meet her most basic needs. Tembo has spent much of her life alone or with only one other elephant at a time—an unnatural and deeply distressing existence for a member of a species who thrives in complex social groups. And for the past four years, since the death of her only companion, she’s lived in complete isolation.
Elephants are intelligent, emotional beings. In the wild, they mourn their dead, form lifelong friendships, and support each other through hardship. But Tembo has no one. No family, no herd, no comfort—just the same small, barren enclosure, day after day, year after year.
The zoo claims to “enrich” her life by making her paint pictures and perform for visitors. But these activities can’t ease the suffering of a captive elephant who’s been deprived of space, movement, and companionship for years.
Tembo deserves better. She deserves to live out her remaining years in a sanctuary, where she can roam freely, make her own choices, and experience the care and respect she’s been denied for nearly 50 years of her life.
The more people who learn Tembo’s story, the more people there are to advocate for her release.
