Zoos argue that they are expanding and improving exhibits, and that elephants live better in captivity than in the wild with disease, drought, habitat loss, poaching, and conflicts with people. When it comes to elephants in captivity, we need to look at what could be causing them to have a shorter life expectancy than their wild counterparts. The wild lion’s age compares with that of a domestic cat; larger breeds of dogs have shorter life spans than smaller ones; and a Shetland pony can outlive a regular horse. This just proved the point that animals who live in captivity do not live as long as animals living in the wild. Once in captivity, the animals are withheld forever from the wild gene pool. In fact, he’s only middle-aged at that point in his astoundingly long life. One reason is the lack of family interaction. Home >> What We Do >> Keep You Informed >> Legal Arena >> Elephants in Captivity in the United States. Elephants live longer in captivity. ... but there’s a long way to go. Quick Facts. Here’s the Truth About the Lives of Animals in Captivity Versus the Wild 4.8K Views 1 year ago. Abstract. How long do squirrels live? The needs and behaviour patterns of the highly intelligent and sensitive grey giants are not being met in captivity; the conditions do not meet the animals’ needs. Our elephants are Asian and do not grow that large. Wild vs Captivity for cetaceans like dolphins, belugas, whales, and sharks. Let’s begin. The off take of Asian elephants from the wild was historically so great that elephant populations on the subcontinent of India were locally depleted. Our elephants live in Florida on a ranch built just for elephants! Zoos and animal welfare advocates differ over elephants in captivity. The females can weigh up to 9,000 lbs (4,090 kg) and the males up to 17,000 lbs (7,727 kg) and grow to be over 10 feet in height. This species of whale can live for over 200 years. ... they live with as many as 100 other elephants. Nearly one in three Asian elephants live in captivity – about 15,000 in all. Today, we’re going to take a look at these tiny but very fast animals to understand more about their life expectancy and how long they can live in captivity vs in the wild. We are fundamentally against the practice of keeping elephants in captivity. Elephants travel over large distances in the wild, but are confined to tiny enclosures in captivity for about 9 months of every year and only slightly larger ones for the rest. In our opinion a natural life for the the species is only possible in the wild. However, larger animals, as a rule, do live longer in the wild than smaller ones. The first elephant to be brought to the United States was a …