She was born in the wilds of Kenya, free to roam and play in a wonderland of enticing sights, sounds, and smells. Then, at just 2 years old, Watoto was torn from her family and home and transported across the world to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington.

Instead of a vast savanna, she was now confined to a 1-acre enclosure, devoid of any trees, grass, or space to roam. There she would spend the next 43 years pacing endlessly in captivity. Because she didn't get along with one of the two Asian elephants at the zoo, she was often kept in solitary confinement in a cell barely big enough to turn around in for up to 18 hours a day.

A Hellish Existence

Watoto spent her days circling in her pathetically small cell, round and round, hour upon hour, year after year. In her home country, Watoto could have lived into her 60s. She could have had a family of her own and a herd to roam, forage, and socialize with. Instead, she lost everything that makes an elephant's life worth living. In 2010, she even lost one of her tusks after getting it caught in a restraint device. The disease that led to her death started creeping into her joints and affecting her mobility.

The Final Night

On August 14, 2014, Watoto fell and was unable to get up. The next morning, keepers found her collapsed. The weight of her body restricted her breathing and blood flow. The staff tried in vain to lift her with straps and heavy machinery, but it was too late. The decision was made to end her life.

Watoto’s body bore the toll of captivity — crippling arthritis that left her lame, recurring colic, and chronic skin problems. As tragic as her death was, it was her life that was the true tragedy. She endured, silently and stoically, for over four decades.

Freedom Denied

Despite support from Seattle's mayor and five city councilors to retire the elephants to a sanctuary, the zoo sent the remaining two elephants, Bamboo and Chai, to the Oklahoma City Zoo, where they too died.

We placed the Woodland Park Zoo on the list of the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants eight times due to its failure to properly care for its three elephants. We worked in support of Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants (FWPZE) to free the elephants to sanctuary and close the zoo's notoriously inadequate exhibit. At last, after decades of advocacy and heartbreak, the exhibit was shut down, too late for Watoto, Bamboo, and Chai, but not for the elephants whose suffering their story may help to prevent.

Watoto’s Legacy

We will never forget Watoto, her quiet endurance, her stolen freedom, her unbreakable spirit. Her name in Swahili means children, a poignant reminder of the innocence and vulnerability of all beings who suffer in captivity.

In Watoto’s name, we call on human children, and all who care, to join us in forging a new era of compassion and freedom for these magnificent and deeply deprived beings.

Learn more about Forgotten Elephants.