She was born in the wild in Sumatra in 1948, captured, and sold to a traveling circus, where she performed for more than 20 years. In 1963, the circus ship she was on caught fire, leaving her with burns and part of her right ear missing. In 1974, another elephant broke her leg.
In 1977, Shirley was sent to the Louisiana Purchase Zoo and Gardens in Monroe, Louisiana. For 22 years, she was the only elephant there. But she had a friend: her keeper, Solomon James.
As Shirley got older, the zoo staff decided she needed more space and the company of other elephants. In 1999, she moved to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, and Solomon went with her on the journey.
What happened when she arrived amazed everyone. Shirley met an elephant named Jenny, and the two had a loud, joyful reunion, nearly bending the bars of their stalls to get close. The staff later learned why. More than two decades earlier, the two elephants had been in the same circus, when Jenny was just a calf. For the next seven years, they were inseparable, like mother and daughter.
Then, in 2018, Solomon traveled from Monroe to surprise Shirley on her 70th birthday. The Sanctuary staff never forgot how Shirley greeted him, eyes shining and trunk outstretched.
“I guess I never actually dreamed that after working with her for 22 years, that [almost] 20 years later, Shirley would still be here, looking like she’s doing well,” Solomon said.
Shirley passed away peacefully in February 2021 at the age of 72, one of the oldest elephants in North America.
Some friendships, it seems, an elephant never forgets.
Do you believe animals remember the people who loved them? Share this with a friend who loves elephants.