African elephants can regain many natural behaviours after spending years or even decades in captivity, offering fresh hope for elephant rehabilitation and rewilding programmes, according to a new study published in PLOS One.

The five-year study examined 11 African elephants released from tourist camps and circuses into protected reserves in South Africa. Researchers compared their behaviour with that of wild elephant populations and found that the rewilded animals displayed similar levels of vigilance, social interactions and self-directed behaviours, indicating a remarkable ability to adapt to natural conditions.

However, the study also found that stress levels in some rehabilitated elephants remained higher than those of their wild counterparts, suggesting that behavioural recovery does not necessarily mean complete physiological recovery. Researchers noted that further long-term monitoring is needed to better understand the animals’ overall well-being and adaptation.

Globally, more than 15,000 Asian and African elephants live in captivity in zoos, temples, tourist facilities, logging camps and circuses. Many suffer from chronic health problems, reduced reproductive success and shorter lifespans compared to wild populations. Growing concern over elephant welfare has increased support for providing captive elephants with more natural living conditions wherever possible.

The findings add to emerging evidence that elephants can successfully readapt to life in the wild when released under suitable conditions. Previous research has shown that orphaned Asian elephants in Sri Lanka and rehabilitated African elephants in Botswana also adapted well after release, recovering from stress and adjusting their movements to natural seasonal patterns.

The study found that elephants released in groups and into areas with established wild elephant populations were more likely to adapt successfully, as they could learn social and survival behaviours from resident herds. However, researchers cautioned that not all captive elephants are suitable candidates for rewilding. Animals with severe health issues or those released into fragmented habitats or regions experiencing intense human-elephant conflict may face significant challenges.

The researchers emphasised that successful elephant rehabilitation requires careful planning, long-term monitoring and appropriate habitat selection. They concluded that while rewilding is not a universal solution, it offers a promising pathway for improving the welfare of many captive elephants and restoring them to more natural lives where suitable landscapes and management conditions exist.