Hanako (elephant)

Hanako (Japanese: はな子; 1947 – May 26, 2016) was a female Asian elephant who lived in Japan. Born in Thailand, she was brought to the Ueno Zoo as a young elephant, the first elephant to be imported into the country after World War II. She was joined shortly after by Indira, an elephant from India, but the two were separated after a few years when Indira was sent on a tour of Japan and Hanako sent to Inokashira Park Zoo in Musashino, Tokyo.

In 1956, a few years after her arrival in Inokashira, Hanako killed a drunken man who had entered her habitat at night. Two years later, she accidentally killed one of her keepers. These incidents led to negative attention towards Hanako. Zoo visitors dubbed her a "killer elephant" and threw rocks at her, leading Hanako to experience physical and mental health issues. Inokashira Park Zoo brought in a handler, Yamakawa Seizō, to care for her. Yamakawa spent six years nursing Hanako back to health and then continued to work as her keeper until his retirement in 1991. Their story was made into a book.

In 2015, a Canadian animal rights activist wrote a blog post about Hanako's living conditions at the zoo. Hanako lived in a concrete enclosure and she lacked access to greenery or other elephants. Over 400,000 people signed a petition asking Inokashira Park Zoo to agree to move Hanako to an elephant sanctuary in Thailand. After consultations with elephant experts, the activists, and the zoo, this was determined to be an unhelpful solution. Due to Hanako's advanced age, it was unlikely that she could be safely moved or that she would enjoy the company of other elephants. Inokashira Park Zoo agreed to make improvements to Hanako's habitat and give her more toys.

Hanako died in 2016, at the age of sixty-nine. At the time of her death, she was the oldest elephant in Japan. Over a thousand people attended a memorial ceremony for her at the zoo, and in 2017 the city of Musashino erected a statue in her honour.