Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now
Sign up
*Password must be at least 8 characters and contain one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number and one symbol.
Already have an account?
By submitting, you consent that you are at least 18 years of age and to receive information about MPR's or APMG entities' programs and offerings. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about MPR, APMG entities, and its sponsors. You may opt-out at any time clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email communication. View our Privacy Policy.
Sign in to your profile
Forgot Password?
New to MPR News?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Reset Password

Enter the username on file and we'll send you a code to reset your password.

Still require assistance or not sure what your User Name is?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Email Verification

A verification code has been emailed to

Still awaiting the code?

Ringling Bros. circus holds final shows featuring elephants

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
For the last time, elephants were used in a performance by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus last night. The circus elephants are seen here during a show last month in Washington, D.C.
For the last time, elephants were used in a performance by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus last night. The circus elephants are seen here during a show last month in Washington, D.C.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds

For the Greatest Show on Earth, there is no longer an elephant in the room. The 145-year-old Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus held its last show featuring elephants Sunday night, in a move that's being applauded by animal rights activists.

Ringling announced its plan last spring, saying it is sending all its Asian elephants to live on the company's Florida nature reserve. The original plan called for phasing out elephants' role in the circus by 2018. But in January, Ringling's parent company, Feld Entertainment, said it was moving up the timetable.

At the time, Feld Entertainment's vice president of communications, Steve Payne, told NPR's Jackie Northam that the family that controls the company "decided that removing the elephants from the circus units and bringing them to the Center for Elephant Conservation was in the best interest of the company and, most importantly, the elephants."

The decision came after years of growing public concern for the elephants' well-being, with activists criticizing Ringling for forcing intelligent animals that, in the wild, sustain complex social relationships, to live in captivity and isolation.

News that Ringling would stop bringing elephants from city to city on its circus tours landed like a bombshell last year, with Humane Society CEO Wayne Pacelle comparing the case to SeaWorld's use of killer whales — and saying that for Feld, which had long resisted calls to stop using elephants in its shows, to agree with activists was "almost like the [fall of] the Berlin Wall within the animal welfare [community]," as the Two-Way reported. A total of 11 elephants took part in their last shows on Sunday, in circuses at Wilkes Barre, Pa., and Providence, R.I. The elephants will now join about 30 others at the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation, a 200-acre facility that says it now hosts "the largest Asian elephant herd in the Western Hemisphere." In addition to Ringling, Feld Entertainment operates a range of high-profile traveling shows, from Monster Jam and Supercross to Marvel Universe Live and Disney on Ice. Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.