What Ringling Bros. Circus Will Be Like Without Elephants

Joe Raedle/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Without Asian elephants, the show will still go on at Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey circuses, though fans will likely also say goodbye to its “woolly mammoth.”

The 145-year-old “Greatest Show on Earth,” owned by the Feld Family of Feld Entertainment Inc., said it will still feature other “extraordinary animal performers.” Those include lions, tigers, horses, llamas, goats, dogs and camels.

The company’s programs have evolved from just animals to “mythical creatures of the past,” specifically a unicorn and a Pegasus. The company will also likely be dropping the “woolly mammoth” from its “Legends” show, now that it can’t dress an elephant.

The Legends performance previously highlighted “awe-inspiring feats of daring, spectacles of strength and thrills of wonder to summon the mythical and mysterious creatures of the past.”

Ringling’s “XTREME” show, on the other hand, features “circus spectacles,” like human cannonballs, balancing acts and stunts on ramps. Even this stunt show, which of course features clowns, includes a range of animals.

The company recognizes that the omission of elephants is an “unprecedented change” in the show’s history, but it said the company can focus on its Asian elephant conservation programs in North America and Sri Lanka.

“This is the most significant change we have made since we founded the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation in 1995,” Kenneth Feld, chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment, said in a statement. “When we did so, we knew we would play a critical role in saving the endangered Asian elephant for future generations, given how few Asian elephants are left in the wild.”

Feld Entertainment Inc. could not be reached for comment. The Circus Fans Association of America, which calls itself North America’s leading circus fan organization, founded in 1926, did not respond to a request for comment.

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