CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Fans of the the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus celebrated the bittersweet end of an era in Charleston Wednesday night, bidding farewell to the circus’ elephants.
A crowd of thousands was on hand, packing the Civic Center steps and lining the streets to see the elephants for the final time.
The elephants marched down Clendenin Street and fed on a platter of fruit, lettuce and bread as the crowd cheered and took pictures.
“They’ve been out here for 18 years and I’ve been lucky to have been here for 13 years of it. I’m really sorry to see it go but I’m glad to be here for the last year,” said Charleston Mayor Danny Jones.
The circus’ parent company, Feld Entertainment, is retiring elephants as part of its circus and relocating them to its Center for Elephant Conservation in central Florida. Brooke Billings, who was in the crowd Wednesday night, said she thought that was the right decision.
“Elephants are my favorite animals, and I was really excited to know that Ringling wasn’t going to be keeping the elephants anymore,” she said. “I’m really excited that they’re going to go to this sanctuary and be able to live in an environment that’s more natural to their habitat. I think that’s wonderful.”
Many parents who had attended the Barnum and Bailey Circus as children brought their own kids to see the elephants final act.
“Our son, he’s 14-months-old, Noah, and we wanted him to experience and see everything that’s going on and see it like we did when we were kids,” said Brandon West.
Barnum and Bailey ringmaster David Shipman said the event, although bittersweet, showed how popular the circus had been for so long.
“I think it’s said that it’s stood the testament of time,” Shipman said. “146 years they’ve been involved and we’re so grateful for that. They’re going to be retiring to the Center of Conservation, and we’re so excited as Ringling Brothers to showcase what’s coming next.”
For Kasha Linville, the elephants had been the main draw for her in the many years that she had attended the circus.
“They’re our number one reason for coming out every year,” she said. “I’m not all that sad. I’m sad to see them go, but I’m happy they get to at least go to Florida. Who isn’t going to enjoy Florida in the summertime? Heck yeah.”
The elephants worked through a prodigious amount of food, and then left giant footprints on pieces of concrete that will be displayed at Town Center Mall.
“It’s crazy to see how much they can really eat,” said Kaitlin Lloyd.
According to the National Elephant Center, elephants may spend 12-18 hours a day feeding. Adult elephants can eat between 200-600 pounds of food a day.
The circus will perform eight shows from April 21-24 at the Charleston Civic Center with its Asian elephants, before their final acts in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. and Providence, R.I. the following week.
At the beginning of the year, it was announced that all elephant acts would be ended after this month.