Elephants at zoo locations in China

28 zoo locations has kept elephants in China
There is presently 121 (23,34) living elephants in zoo locations in China (in this database)
Region: China is in this database included in asiaOther regions
Wild elephants:

China has about 186 (min. 178, max. 193) wild elephants. Source:Zhang (2011)

Location holdings:

28 zoo locations has kept 140 elephants in China

(Database tables with collection of elephants further down on the page)

Elephants in zoo locations121 (23,34) living19 (4,11) dead
Sex ratio and
Management:
 Male  23 / 121 
 19%
 Female  34 / 121 
 28%
 Free contact  71 / 121 
 59%
 Protected contact  0 / 121  0%
 No contact  0 / 121  0%
 Unknown contact  49 / 121 
 40%
 wild  1 / 121 
 1%

2008: 200-250 (Sukumar 2008)
1996: 330-370 (Santiapillai, IUCN 1996)

Small but viable herds live in southern Yunnan province. Numbers are rising, thanks to reproduction and immigration of Laos herds.

China is also a large illegal manufacturer and trader of ivory, mostly from African elephants, although some Ivory is also imported leagally.

In July 2008, the Commission on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) allowed a once-off sale of 108 tons of ivory stockpile from South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia to China.

2012-2020: Since 2012, China has imported more than 100 from Zimbabwe to keep in zoos and circuses. They are said to sell for up to $90,000 (£73,600) each.

Poaching


in 1995, four people were executed for poaching elephants for their tusks. Since then, no poaching cases have been reported. (source)

Captive population


All captive elephants are registered under the State Forestry Administration, which is the key governmental agency responsible for wildlife conservation and management. Elephants in zoos are under the management of the Ministry
of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.


Recommended Citation

Koehl, Dan, Facts about elephants in China. Elephant Encyclopedia, (2021) available online retrieved at https://www.elephant.se/country.php?name=China.
(archived at the Wayback machine)

Sources, among others


Internal relevant links

  • The elephant database startpage. Statistics
  • News about elephants in China (From the sister site Elephant News)

    • NameElephant collectionTypePlaceDistrictProvinceStateRegion
    Beijing Wildlife Park
    Kept totally 12 elephants    		, 12 present (0,0)0 births0 relocated0 deathszooBeijing
    (map)    		Daxing
    Beijing Zoo
    Kept totally 9 elephants    		, 6 present (2,4)0 births2 relocated1 deathszooBeijing
    (map)
    Bifengxia Zoo
    Kept totally 2 elephants    		, 2 present (1,1)0 births0 relocated0 deathszooYa'an, Sichuan
    Changsha Zoo
    Kept totally 3 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births0 relocated3 deathszooChangsha, Hunan
    (map)
    Chimelong Qingyuan Safari Park
    Kept totally 25 elephants    		, 25 present (1,0)0 births0 relocated0 deathszooPanyu District
    (map)    		Guangzhou
    China unspecified location
    Kept totally 7 elephants    		, 6 present (0,1)0 births1 relocated0 deathszoo
    (map)
    Chongqing Zoo
    Kept totally 7 elephants    		, 5 present (3,2)5 births1 relocated1 deathszooChongqing
    (map)
    Dalian Forest Zoo
    Kept totally 7 elephants    		, 7 present (1,6)2 births0 relocated0 deathszooDalian
    (map)    		Liaoning province
    Guangzhou Xiangjiang Safari Park
    Kept totally 3 elephants    		, 3 present (0,3)2 births0 relocated0 deathszooGuangdong Province
    Guangzhou Zoo (Canton Zoo)
    Kept totally 10 elephants    		, 8 present (3,5)2 births0 relocated2 deathszooGuangzhou, Kwangtung
    (map)
    Hangzhou Zoo
    Kept totally 10 elephants    		, 9 present (1,2)1 births1 relocated0 deathszoo Hangzhou
    (map)    		Zhejiang province
    Harbin Beifang North Forest Zoo
    Kept totally 1 elephants    		, 1 present (0,0)0 births0 relocated0 deathszoo
    (map)
    Jinan Zoo (Gold Cow Park)
    Kept totally 5 elephants    		, 4 present (2,2)1 births1 relocated0 deathszooJinan, Shandong
    (map)
    Kunming Zoo
    Kept totally 6 elephants    		, 3 present (1,2)0 births3 relocated0 deathszooKunmingYunnan
    Liuzhou Zoo
    Kept totally 1 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births1 relocated0 deathszooLiuzhouGuangxi
    Nanning Zoo
    Kept totally 3 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births2 relocated1 deathszooNanning
    Ordos Safari Park
    Kept totally 0 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births0 relocated0 deathszooOrdosInner Mongolia
    Pingnan Xiongsen Animal World
    Kept totally 3 elephants    		, 2 present (0,0)0 births0 relocated1 deathszooGuigang
    (map)    		Pingnan CountyGuangxi
    Shanghai Wild Animal Park
    Kept totally 13 elephants    		, 11 present (0,0)0 births1 relocated1 deathszooShanghai
    (map)
    Shanghai Zoo
    Kept totally 12 elephants    		, 2 present (1,1)7 births4 relocated6 deathszooShanghai 200335
    (map)
    Shendiao Mountain Zoo
    Kept totally 3 elephants    		, 3 present (2,1)1 births0 relocated0 deathszooWeihaiShandong Province
    Taiyuan Zoo
    Kept totally 4 elephants    		, 3 present (1,2)0 births0 relocated1 deathszooTaiyuanShanxi
    Wenzhou Zoo
    Kept totally 1 elephants    		, 0 present (0,0)0 births1 relocated0 deathszooWenzhouZhejiang Province
    Wuhan Zoo
    Kept totally 2 elephants    		, 2 present (1,1)0 births0 relocated0 deathszooWuhan, Hubei
    Xian Qinling Zoological Park
    Kept totally 4 elephants    		, 1 present (1,0)2 births1 relocated2 deathszooXian
    Xinjiang Tianshan Mountain Safari Park
    Kept totally 3 elephants    		, 3 present (1,0)0 births0 relocated0 deathszooUrumqiXinjiang
    Xishuangbanna Tropical Zoo
    Kept totally 2 elephants    		, 2 present (0,1)1 births0 relocated0 deathszooJinghong
    (map)    		Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous PrefectureYunnansouthwest China
    Yunnan Wild Animal Park
    Kept totally 1 elephants    		, 1 present (1,0)0 births0 relocated0 deathszooKunmingYunnan


    This document was updated: 2013-04-21 08:08:49


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