Kariba’s Journey Signals Europe’s First Elephant Sanctuary in Alentejo

The sight of an elephant roaming freely among the cork oaks of the Alentejo is no longer a day-dream. Within months, Alentejo sanctuary Pangea expects to welcome Kariba, the 40-year-old African elephant who has spent most of her life in northern European zoos. For animal-welfare advocates in Portugal, the transfer promises to turn years of campaigning into a tangible reality: the country will host the first large-scale elephant refuge in Europe. If the final transport approvals fall into place, her early 2026 arrival will also end more than three years of solitary confinement in Belgium and offer a powerful symbol of progress for Portugal's animal-welfare community.

Kariba’s four-decade detour through Europe

Born during a government cull in 1980s Zimbabwe, Kariba was shipped to Germany while still a calf and later moved through the Netherlands and Belgium. Each relocation was supposed to improve her conditions, yet every stop chipped away at her social world. The death of her companion Jenny in 2022 at Pakawi Park outside Antwerp left her utterly alone, a situation scientists rank among the most severe stressors for elephants. Belgian NGO GAIA helped the zoo search for alternatives and eventually connected it to Pangea, setting in motion the most ambitious relocation an African elephant has ever undertaken on European soil.

Why the Alentejo matters

Portugal’s sun-drenched interior offers more than postcard landscapes; its mild winters, ample space and low human density create near-ideal conditions for long-lived megafauna. Pangea secured 402 hectares that straddle the municipalities of Vila Viçosa and Alandroal, an area once dominated by livestock and hunting estates. By restoring Mediterranean scrub and planting native grasses, the team hopes to mimic the savanna rhythms Kariba’s species evolved for. Crucially, the sanctuary will remain closed to casual tourism, opening its gates only on pre-arranged donor days while funneling visitors to an off-site discovery centre under design in Évora.

Navigating Europe’s regulatory labyrinth

Moving a six-tonne animal across 1,900 kilometres of highway is nothing like booking a pet passport. European Union rules demand meticulous health checks, species-specific crates that comply with IATA Live Animal Regulations, and a paper trail stretching from Antwerp customs to the Portuguese DGAV. Over the past year, veterinarians have conditioned Kariba to walk into her steel crate voluntarily, minimising tranquiliser use during the multi-day journey. A climate-controlled lorry—outfitted with vibration dampers, live-stream cameras and GPS—will carry her through France and Spain, stopping at designated livestock rest stations where a rotating team of carers can administer hydration, browse and medical checks. Transport planners are targeting a late-winter window when daytime temperatures are cool enough for a lengthy road convoy yet mild enough to avoid heating the crate.

A European problem, a Portuguese prototype

Conservation groups estimate that more than 600 elephants remain in captivity across Europe, with at least 36 enduring life in isolation. Countries that have banned performing wild animals or are downsizing zoo collections now scramble to place unwanted pachyderms. Pangea was conceived as a continental solution: it can eventually house 24 elephants in separate but connectable herds, giving each the choice to mingle or retreat. Biologists from the universities of Évora and Lund will monitor behaviour, hoping to publish data that reshape enclosure standards across the continent. The Portuguese government, eager to burnish its green credentials before hosting the 2027 EU Biodiversity Summit, has fast-tracked certain permits and pledged ongoing veterinary oversight.

Funding the republic of trunks

Building and running such a facility is not inexpensive. Pangea operates as a non-profit that forecasts €15 M in capital and operating costs over its first decade. Core funding comes from the Born Free Foundation, World Animal Protection, the Olsen Animal Trust and France’s Fondation Brigitte Bardot. Domestic law firm PLMJ has donated legal work, while local tech start-up Host Logic maintains the sanctuary’s remote camera network. Crowd-funding drives cover everything from hay balers to solar-powered water pumps, and Portuguese taxpayers indirectly support the project through municipal grants tied to rural development.

What happens when the truck stops

Kariba will spend her first nights inside a climate-stable barn where keepers can monitor her joints after the long ride. Gradually, sliding doors will open onto ever larger paddocks, until she can wander the full expanse of cork, holm oak and seasonal ponds. Biologists believe that within weeks she will begin relishing simple elephant pleasures—dust-bathing, browsing on bitter acorns and, critically, hearing the low-frequency rumbles of other elephants expected later in 2026. Her story does not rewrite the trauma of capture, but it could set a precedent: if one of the planet’s most social mammals can trade concrete for the Alentejo’s rolling hills, so might dozens of others still waiting behind European zoo fences.