As Julie took her first tentative steps into a new life at an elephant sanctuary, four decades of performing and living in the circus finally came to a close.

Her ordeal began in the 1980s, when she was separated from her mother as a calf after the older elephant was killed for her ivory tusks, before Julie was transported out of southern Africa and sold into the circus industry.

She was later acquired by the family-owned Victor Hugo Cardinali Circus, Portugal’s largest circus operation.

During her circus years, Julie was kept in a barn; today, her home is a 1,000-acre sanctuary of rolling hills, open grassland, woodland and lakes, located around two hours east of Lisbon.

The site, created by the Suffolk-based British charity Pangea Trust, is the first elephant sanctuary of its kind in Europe.

Julie, Portugal’s last remaining circus elephant, has become the sanctuary’s first resident after Pangea convinced the Victor Hugo Cardinali Circus to allow her to spend her retirement there.

Countless other elephants have not had the same chance.

While most European nations have outlawed the use of wild animals in circuses, suitable long-term homes for displaced elephants have been virtually nonexistent until now.

Julie could well have found herself in a circus or zoo in Germany, Hungary, or Dubai where elephants that perform tricks are still in high demand.

But for the last fortnight Julie has been making the most of her freedom, enjoying mud baths and grazing in her new habitat.

Pangea’s Managing Director Kate Moore believes Julie’s surroundings could help her to remember her life back in Africa with her family.

Kate said: ‘The landscape and climate in the Alentejo region of Portugal is very similar to Africa, and we can’t help but wonder what she remembers from her early years before she joined the circus.

‘Elephants are incredibly intelligent, sociable creatures with complex needs and the most extraordinary memories, and within days she was behaving just like a wild elephant – grazing, playing with the trees, wallowing in the mud, and giving herself a dust bath.

‘Hearing her rumble is incredible, but what she needs now is a companion to answer her.’

Kariba, another female African elephant currently living alone in a Belgian zoo, is expected to join Julie in the coming months, with more elephants to follow.

And Julie’s old family at the circus have stayed in touch with her bringing her baskets of fruit after dropping her off in an animal transport vehicle for her first day at the sanctuary.

Over 600 elephants live in captivity across Europe, roughly 40 of which are still forced to perform in circus-type settings.

In the UK the last circus elephant was retired in 2011, while in 2018 Portugal’s government voted to prohibit the use of wild animals in circuses, with the ban taking full effect in 2024.

For the final years of her time with the circus Julie was not working but was being cared for by the staff there.

Earlier this year, Pangea helped to rehome Sona, Portugal’s last circus tiger, at a sanctuary in Spain.

Pangea, like all charities, relies on donations to fund their work. Donations can be made here: Pangeatrust.org/donate 

For the next stage of their project, to house elephants from zoos and circus, Pangea are looking to open up 70 acres of habitat for Julie and her future companions.