Tania is a 37-year-old elephant suffering a life of solitary confinement at the Targu-Mures Zoo in Romania, transferred from an Italian zoo in September. Although the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria requires that zoos house female elephants in groups, Tania continues to languish without the company of other elephants. This is cruel punishment for female elephants, who are profoundly social.
Tania was captured in the wild in the 1970s, likely prematurely separated from her mother and other family members. She was then sent to a zoo in France where she appears to have lived alone for more than 20 years.
Observers note that since her arrival at Targu-Mures Zoo, Tania has been forced to live indoors in a tiny barren cell standing on concrete, often in her own urine and feces. The zoo industry reportedly claims that Tania does not get along with other elephants. Yet, zoos often use this claim to justify housing solitary elephants when, in fact, it is the unnatural conditions at zoos that deprive elephants of their most basic needs—room to move and more natural social groupings. Tania also repeatedly rocks and sways, which is a coping mechanism indicating she is in psychological distress.