The Greatest (Rebranded) Show On Earth: Say Goodbye To The Ringling Elephants
BY CARLY MILLER
After 145 years, the “greatest show on earth” is reinventing itself.
Feld Entertainment, the parent company of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, announced the retirement of all elephants from their traveling circus, in March 2015 — two years ahead of schedule. “Legends,” the latest performance coming to the Barclays Center (February 25 – Mar.6) will be our very last chance to see the famed circus elephants live in Brooklyn.
Discharging the elephants is a serious move for Ringling Bros. The elephant has been the face of the brand since 1882, when the enormous African elephant “Jumbo” became the first international animal superstar, drawing the largest crowds in circus history.
Today, elephants still represent the spectacle and tradition of the traveling circus; they parade through streets in 115 cities, perform 1,000 shows a year, and live in the childhood memories of generations of Americans.
But the traveling elephant show has become prohibitively expensive and controversial. According to Alana Feld, Ringling’s executive vice president and producer, the circus owns about 42 Asian elephants, which cost the company $65,000 apiece to maintain each year. And recently, cities across the country have passed ordinances that restrict exotic-animal circuses in their jurisdictions, citing animal rights violations.
These laws also reflect a seismic shift in public attitudes; this generation of consumers is more concerned with humane and environmentally-sound choices, and it’s become impossible to hide the bad PR that animal circus acts have accrued over the decades. For the first time, the social cost of traveling elephants outweighs the spectacle.
What will become of the newly unemployed circus animals?
They’re headed to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s 200-acre Center for Elephant Conservation in Florida, a global hub for Asian elephants, care specialists, and researchers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOGeRIsoQSo
Asian elephants have a specific appeal to oncological researchers, because although elephants can live up to 60 years and grow to 14,000 pounds, they rarely get cancer. Developing a habitat for these elephants will allow oncologists to study their genetic properties and work to develop new cancer treatments for humans.
And as for the fate of the circus? “It’ll go on,” said Susan Nance, author of Entertaining Elephants: Animal Agency and the Business of the American Circus, “but it will take on a different shape. And this is why it’s such an amazing kind of entertainment, because it’s so adaptable.”
Elephants have endured a long history under the spotlight in New York City. In 1884, a stampede of P.T. Barnum’s elephants trudged across the Brooklyn Bridge to test its weight capacity after a 13-year build. In 1903, Topsy the circus Elephant was publicly, and gruesomely, electrocuted in Coney Island after disobeying its trainer. In the 19th century, “see the elephants” became a catchphrase synonymous with a spectacular and memorable event, following on the heels of President Lincoln’s 1864 re-election slogan “the elephant is coming”.
And now, fittingly, as we usher in the end of an era-in-entertainment, we can say goodbye to the circus elephants on our home turf.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey presents LEGENDS at Barclays Center
Dates: Thursday, February 25 – Sunday,February 28 and Tuesday, March 1 – Sunday, March 6
Tickets: Interactive map to find tickets, Prices range from $15-90 for adults.
Additional Information: Make sure to arrive one hour early to catch the All Access Pre Show available to all ticket holders. See animals up close, visit with performers, get autographs, and try on costumes. For more on venue details, directions for out-of-towners, and how to prepare, see our 2013 Circus Guide.
Prepare for the side-show: Serious animal rights protests. NYC Animal’s Rights meetup FAUN and Animal Battalion Protests start promptly on opening night and continue for the show’s run.