Govind Tekale
A recent Colorado Highest Court ruling has determined that five elephants at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo cannot pursue legal release, sparking fresh debate about elephant welfare in captivity.
The case centered on Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou, and Jambo—African elephants living at the zoo. The Nonhuman Rights Project (NRP) filed a habeas corpus petition, a legal tool typically used when someone believes they’re being wrongfully held. The NRP argued “elephants are autonomous animals that generally have complex biological, psychological, and social needs. Their brains, which are the largest in absolute size of any land animal, hold nearly as many
cortical neurons (used to control executive functioning) as humans’ brains. “
The court retorted by saying, “Because an elephant is not a person, the elephants here do not have standing to bring a habeas corpus claim.”
The NRP’s argument highlighted key concerns about elephant welfare in zoos. These elephants were born in the wild in Africa, and the NRP argued that zoo confinement could cause brain damage for such intelligent and social creatures. The organization wanted to move these elephants to one of the two accredited sanctuaries in the United States.
“It seems their real goal is to manipulate people into donating to their cause by incessantly publicizing sensational court cases with relentless calls for supporters to donate,” the zoo said in a statement.
The court noted an interesting detail in the NRP’s request—they weren’t asking for complete freedom. “Zoo should open its gates and set the elephants loose to roam free in Colorado Springs and beyond, any more than it was suggesting that very smart dogs could not be
“Kept” as house pets,” the ruling stated.
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Similar cases in New York, California, and Hawaii have all ended the same way. The Bronx Zoo’s elephant Happy faced a similar legal battle in 2022, with courts deciding animals can’t use human legal rights to challenge their living situations.
The NRP sees these court losses as expected early steps. “As with other social justice movements, early losses are expected as we challenge an entrenched status quo that has allowed Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou, and Jambo to be relegated to a lifetime of mental and physical suffering,” they stated.
For now, the elephants will stay at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. The court suggested that changes to animal rights might need to come through new laws rather than court decisions. This case adds to the ongoing discussion about how we balance animal welfare with current legal systems, especially for intelligent animals like elephants who need lots of space and social interaction to thrive.
