The Pangea Trust is a charitable organisation, registered in the United Kingdom and Portugal, that operates the Pangea Elephant Sanctuary in the Alentejo region of southern Portugal. The trust was founded in the United Kingdom in 2017 and established an associated Portuguese non-profit in 2022. The sanctuary, located between the municipalities of Alandroal and Vila Viçosa, has been described in Portuguese and international news reports as the first large-scale sanctuary in Europe for elephants previously kept in zoos and circuses. Julie, the last circus elephant in Portugal, became its first resident at the end of June 2026. A second elephant, Kariba, is expected to arrive from Belgium later in the year.
History The Pangea Trust was founded in 2017 and registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales in February 2018. According to the organisation, a feasibility study covering potential sites across Europe identified Portugal as having suitable habitat and climate conditions for an elephant sanctuary. The trust was incorporated in Portugal in 2022 as Associação Natureza Pangea, a private-law non-profit association. It purchased an estate in the Alentejo in 2023 and began restoring the habitat, with construction of the first barn and enclosure starting in 2025. The project was publicly presented in November 2025, when the trust said it expected to receive its first elephants in early 2026. The municipal councils of Alandroal and Vila Viçosa are partners in the project, which also has support from Portugal's Directorate-General for Food and Veterinary (DGAV) and the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF). Construction was reported in February 2026 to be running about a month behind schedule after a period of heavy rainfall; the trust said the first phase was completed in March 2026. In December 2025, the comedian Ricky Gervais named Pangea among 22 animal charities sharing £2.43 million in donations from platinum ticket sales on his Mortality stand-up tour. Pangea was among 17 of the charities that received £100,000 each. In early 2026, the trust assisted with the rehoming of Sona, Portugal's last circus tiger, to a sanctuary in Spain. The sanctuary opened at the end of June 2026, when Julie arrived as its first resident.
Sanctuary The sanctuary covers 405 hectares (about 1,000 acres) of a former cattle estate between Vila Viçosa and Alandroal, around 200 kilometres east of Lisbon. The first phase comprises 28 hectares, with plans to expand across the full site. The facility is not open to the public, and the land is being managed for nature restoration alongside elephant care. The trust has said it plans annual visits by small groups of donors, school programmes, volunteering and research activity, and an open day for local residents. The trust has said the site could eventually house between 20 and 30 elephants, depending on habitat space and welfare studies, and that the project is funded by donations from organisations and the public. At the project's public presentation in November 2025, Kate Moore, the trust's managing director, said the organisation expected to invest about €15 million in the sanctuary over roughly ten years. The sanctuary is modelled on large-scale elephant facilities in Asia, Africa and the Americas. According to the trust, more than 600 elephants live in captivity across Europe, and a shortage of rehoming options has left governments unable to enforce welfare laws. The Guardian reported in May 2026 that 36 elephants were living alone in zoos across Europe and that about 40 continued to perform in circuses, and that captive female African elephants live an average of 17 years, compared with 56 in the wild.
Elephants The sanctuary's first two intended residents are Julie and Kariba, both female African elephants in their forties. In May 2026, the Pangea Trust and Circo Víctor Hugo Cardinali jointly announced a voluntary agreement to relocate Julie, Portugal's last circus elephant, to the sanctuary. Julie was captured in southern Africa as a calf and, according to The Guardian, was acquired by the Cardinali circus from a German zoo in 1988. She was retired from performing in 2024. Portugal's parliament had approved a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses in 2018, with the measure taking full effect in 2025. Samba, the elephant she had lived alongside at the circus, died in 2024, leaving Julie without the company of other elephants. Following veterinary health assessments, Julie was moved to the sanctuary on 29 June 2026, becoming its first resident. The trust said its specialist team would oversee her care, that Cardinali would remain involved during her adaptation, and that she would need support for health and mobility problems common in elephants of her age. Her relocation completed the implementation of the 2018 Portuguese law prohibiting wild animals in circuses, leaving no wild animals in any circus in the country. Kariba was captured in Zimbabwe as a calf in 1984 and spent years in zoos across Europe. She arrived at Olmense Zoo in Belgium in 2012, where she lived with another African elephant, Jenny; the zoo was renamed Pakawi Park in 2019. After Jenny died in 2022, Kariba was left alone, and the zoo began seeking a new home for her. Her transfer was scheduled for late May 2026 but was postponed after an abscess was found on her foot in the days before she was due to travel. The Born Free Foundation, which raised funds for the move, said the condition was treatable and that the relocation was delayed rather than cancelled. As of July 2026, the trust expected Kariba to join Julie later in the year.
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