We’re incredibly excited to announce that Sandro will finally be coming to sanctuary, and we’re actively preparing to bring him home. After years of advocacy and a long-awaited judicial decision, a three-judge panel has unanimously ruled that Elephant Sanctuary Brazil is the best place for him, approving his relocation. Now comes the costly and complicated work of bringing him home—and we need your support to make it happen.
Sandro is a male Asian elephant who is approximately 54 years old and lives at the Sorocaba Zoo in São Paulo, Brazil, where he’s been for about 40 years. His enclosure is, as might be expected, substandard and unsuitable for any elephant, especially an older elephant like Sandro, who suffers from substantial health issues.
Sandro at Sorocaba Zoo
We’ve been working behind the scenes to bring Sandro to ESB since 2020, when a public prosecutor recommended transferring him to the sanctuary. After years of legal battles and opposition from the zoo, in 2025, a judge ruled in favor of the transfer. However, subsequent appeals suspended the move. A recent ruling has now cleared the way for Sandro’s long-awaited relocation to ESB, and while the zoo has submitted a final appeal regarding the judicial process itself, it is unlikely the case will be heard before Sandro’s relocation.
We are looking forward to welcoming Sandro to his new sanctuary home, even though we know he might be facing serious medical issues. Regardless, he deserves a home where he can rest and receive treatment in his senior years. At sanctuary, he can walk on natural surfaces, which will help his feet and musculoskeletal system, he can eat a natural and customized diet, he can roam wherever he sees fit and, of course, he will have the opportunity to make his own decisions for the first time in decades. This represents a new future for Sandro, and he gets to choose how he will live in it. We’re hoping that you, our sanctuary family, will join in the process of moving him–finally–to this sanctuary life.
