Elephants have been coming to Baraboo since 1888. After August, they won't return

Every August, circus performers, animals and seasonal workers leave Circus World as the Baraboo museum’s summer performance season comes to an end. But after this year, for the first time since the Ringling Brothers arrived in Baraboo in the late 1800s, the elephants won’t be returning.

After this season, the elephants will move into retirement at the Endangered Ark Foundation in Oklahoma.

Circus World Executive Director Scott O’Donnell is sad to see them go.

“We’ve known this day has been coming for five years, and we’ve been planning for it, but that hasn’t taken away the sting of them leaving,” he said.

He knows this marks the end of an era for Baraboo.

“Elephants have been here since 1888. When you get off the interstate, there are elephant images everywhere in town, on the fire hydrants, everywhere," he said. "They’re part of the DNA of this community.”

And he’s touched to see how that community has come out in force to bid farewell to “the lovely ladies,” including at the recent annual Big Top Parade, where honorary grand marshals, elephants Kelly and Viola, were given “a historical and emotional standing ovation.”

But does O’Donnell think that the elephants’ exit will spell the end of the circus? Not by a long shot.

“The death knell of the circus has been rung ever since it first started,” he said. “When we went from horse-drawn wagons to trains, they thought that was the end. When we stopped exclusively performing under big top tents, they thought that was the end. And when some French-Canadian fire-eaters had a vision and created Cirque du Soleil, they said that was the end.

“But there’s still room for all of these things in the circus. Circus arts are so nimble and able to react, and that’s what’s exciting,” he said.

'There's just not a next generation of circus elephants'

Even so, the elephants’ exit from Circus World is a big change.

While elephants have been part of circus culture almost since the beginning of circuses, a variety of factors —including concerns about the ethics of animal performances and a growing commitment to endangered animal conservation — have contributed to circuses stepping away from elephants for years.

Feld Entertainment — which has owned the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus since 1967 — announced in 2015 that it would phase elephants out of its acts by 2018, a process that ended up being completed by 2016.

At the time, the company told NPR that the move was in the best interest of the elephants, and Alana Feld, the company’s executive vice president, attributed the decision to “a mood shift among our consumers.”

Humane Society CEO Wayne Pacelle said that mood shift was due to such things as the popularity of the 2013 documentary "Blackfish," which showed the treatment of killer whales in captivity. He told NPR the documentary led to an “emerging consciousness within the public about the proper treatment of animals.”

Although Circus World initially planned to keep elephants even after Feld made its announcement, that changed in 2018, and Circus World started planning for the elephants to retire by 2023.

“When we consulted with our vet teams and animal care staff five years ago about our elephants, we knew this vista was coming to us, and there’s just not a next generation of circus elephants,” O’Donnell said. “If there was, we would continue to have them here, but as a species, they’re very difficult to breed, there’s not a robust gene pool in North America, and they just need our undying attention and commitment as the critically endangered species they are.”

The Asian elephants who come to Circus World for summer performance seasons are part of a herd that live at Oklahoma’s Endangered Ark Foundation the rest of the year. This summer’s elephants are 46-year-old Kelly and 48-year-old Viola. When the performance season ends Aug. 27, Kelly and Viola will return to their herd in Oklahoma.

A dream job for a 'quirky kid'

Although O’Donnell is sad to see “the ladies” go, his background gives him the perspective to see the elephants’ farewell as part of the constant evolution of circuses.

He describes himself as “that quirky kid from Canada who was always interested in circuses.” When he was a child, he begged his family to take him to every circus that came to town, and he talked to the performers, eager to learn about their art form.

O’Donnell was especially interested in clowns — “I predated the Stephen King creepy clown thing” — and was disappointed to be unable to attend clown college in America because of immigration barriers.

“So I befriended the clowns who came to town, and off I went,” he said.

After performing for many years, O’Donnell owned and operated his own circus. His travels brought him to Baraboo in the early 2000s, and he’s had his dream job, director of Circus World, since 2013.

“When I was a kid and I was always so voracious about learning everything there was to know about circuses, I would read about this mythical place,” he said. “I actually thought it was called ‘Baruba,’ and my family was surprised when they found out it was in Wisconsin. They thought it was somewhere more tropical.”

A circus city within the city of Baraboo

Although Baraboo is far from tropical, it is a paradise for circus enthusiasts.

The Circus World grounds, operated by the Wisconsin Historical Society, spans 64 acres of historical buildings, exhibit space, animal barns and performance areas.

“For over 200 years in America, the circus has come to cities and become a town within a town,” O’Donnell said. “Here in Baraboo, Circus World is its own mini city within a city.”

Seven buildings on the property are designated as National Historic Landmarks; they are the original winter quarters — the animal barns and office space — of the famous Ringling Brothers, who brought their circus to Baraboo in 1884. The city would remain the Ringling Brothers' home base until 1918.

In 1959, the Ringling Brothers’ personal attorney, John M. Kelly, decided there should be a museum to “honor and preserve the legacy of over 100 circuses that have come from Wisconsin, more than any other state,” O’Donnell said.

Today, the space includes the historical buildings and several exhibits showcasing memorabilia and artifacts housed at Circus World — everything from circus wagons and train cars to posters and wardrobe pieces. There’s even a library and research center, which fields 2,500 to 3,000 genealogical requests each year.

“Someone will go to a family gathering and learn that Uncle Bill used to work in the circus,” O’Donnell said. “We get all these calls like that, asking us to tell them what their family members did in the circus.”

In addition to the museum and exhibit space, there are daily circus performances, animal rides and children's activities in the summer months.

'I go where the elephants go'

The Ringling Brothers are perhaps the most well-known circus family, in an industry that has been defined by family. Although O’Donnell — as the “quirky” kid whose interest in circuses was his own passion — doesn’t fit the bill, Armando Loyal's family background does.

Loyal, Circus World's elephant care superintendent, is part of the ninth generation of a circus family. As a circus kid, he grew up learning about and trying out everything from acrobatics to horse riding. When he was about 10, his interest turned to elephants.

“I started hanging out around them all the time,” Loyal said. “Old-timers will let you hang around the elephants as long as you pick up poop and run wheelbarrows,” he added, laughing.

Elephants have been Loyal’s focus for 15 years now, and he’s been Circus World’s elephant care superintendent for the past six. At the end of August, he’ll also leave Baraboo.

“I’m going to Oklahoma,” Loyal said. “I go where the elephants go.”

During his summers at Circus World, Loyal also goes where the elephants go. That includes leading them in their two performances each day, educating people about elephants in a daily “Trunk Tales” talk, and just answering people’s questions when they approach for elephant rides.

Loyal has even taken the elephants to visit a nearby senior home to thank one of the residents for creating public art inspired by Circus World elephants.

O’Donnell recalled the woman’s joy at visiting with the elephants: “Sometimes you have to wait till you’re 90 years young to have the best day of your life,” she told Loyal and O’Donnell.

Loyal said those moments with the community — “seeing people experience the same thing I do every day in my life” — will be what he misses the most when he leaves with the elephants at the end of August.

“We’re part of the community here so it will be sad to leave. I even saw a few ‘Armando for mayor’ signs at the parade,” Loyal said, laughing. “People here just love us so much. It’ll be tough.”

Circus World without elephants, but with their memory

In 2017, a year after Feld Entertainment stopped using elephants in their performances, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus closed. At the time, the Feld family attributed the closure to declining attendance due to a number of factors, including a “dramatic drop” after the elephants left.

However, last year, Feld Entertainment announced that their circus would start touring again, now focusing on human performances, as well as those performers’ back stories, including how they got interested in circus arts and how they’ve honed their skills.

O’Donnell is thrilled that the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey will tour again, and he thinks it bodes well for the future of circus performances — even without elephants.

He noted that an interest in human circus arts such as acrobatics and gymnastics has always been well-represented in Wisconsin, in large part due to German immigrants' establishment of Turner programs.

"We've also seen youth interest in circus arts grow," O'Donnell said. "There are hundreds of circus arts programs now, learning how to do all kinds of things. It's beautiful. Just when you think you've seen it all, someone else has a new dream."

While the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus won't have any animals, O'Donnell said animal performances — from horses and goats to dogs and llamas — will continue at Circus World.

And while there won't be any live elephants at Circus World anymore, their memory will live on in the historical site's exhibits and memorabilia.

"When I used to travel as a circus performer, I went all over the world," O'Donnell said. "I met a lot of circus people who didn't speak English, and the one word they all said that I understood when we tried to talk about the circus was 'Baraboo.' "

If you go

Circus World's summer performance season goes through Aug. 27, with daily Big Top performances at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Other summer activities include a musical performance, an interactive kids circus and a daily Trunk Tales talk, when Armando Loyal shares facts about elephants and his experiences with Circus World elephants.

Summer hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Admission is $23 for ages 13-64, $20 for ages 65 and up, $15 for children ages 5-12 and free for children under 5. Admission fees include access to all the performances and museum exhibits.

From Aug. 28 through Sept. 29, the museum, buildings and grounds are open for self-guided tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Admission is $11 for ages 13-64, $9 for ages 65 and older, $7 for children ages 5-12 and free for children under 5.

Circus World is at 550 Water St., Baraboo. For more information, see circusworldbaraboo.org.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Elephants will no longer be at Baraboo's Circus World after this year