“Pole Pole lit a flame in our hearts. It must never go out.”

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"POLE POLE LIT A FLAME IN OUR HEARTS. 
IT MUST NEVER GO OUT."

Dear John

On this day, 38 years ago, a young elephant died at London Zoo aged just 17. Pole Pole* had a unique link to Born Free and, today, YOU can help stop zoo suffering in her memory ( [link removed] ).

In 1969, our Co-Founders Bill Travers MBE and Virginia McKenna OBE starred with Pole Pole in the film An Elephant Called Slowly, set in Kenya. She was just two when torn from her wild family as a gift to London Zoo and, despite Bill and Virginia’s best efforts, was sent to the UK after filming.

In 1982, Bill and Virginia visited Pole Pole in London Zoo. She paced her barren, enclosure and swayed abnormally to and fro. Yet, when they called her name, she came immediately, her trunk outstretched to meet their outstretched hands. Even in her distress, she remembered them. It was a heartbreaking, life-changing moment.

Virginia and Bill campaigned to give Pole Pole a better life but, in 1983, she collapsed and was put down. Determined her short life would not be in vain, and together with their son Will Travers OBE, in 1984 they launched Zoo Check, the charity that evolved into Born Free.

Dismissed at the time as a ‘nine-day wonder’, Born Free is today a world-renowned force for wildlife and, thanks to our campaigning, there are no more elephants at London Zoo. But now, with your help, we want to make the whole of the UK an elephant-free zone.

Take action here: [link removed] ( [link removed] )

“How terrible it is for an elephant – this wisest, cleverest and most sensitive of animals – to be kept in captivity. Pole Pole lit a flame in our hearts. It must never go out.”

Virginia McKenna OBE
Co-Founder & Trustee

Photos © Daily Mail
*Pronounced Po-lee Po-lee, her name means ‘Slowly Slowly’ in Swahili.

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© 2021 - Born Free Foundation
2nd Floor, Frazer House, 14 Carfax
Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 1ER

The Born Free Foundation is a registered charity. (Charity Number: 1070906). Registered as a company limited by guarantee (Number 03603432) (England & Wales).

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