Elephants are known as some of the most intelligent creatures in the world, and they feel many of the same emotions as humans do. That’s what makes the cruelty that elephants can sometimes face in the world even more disturbing…

Lucy is an elephant who has spent most of her life trapped in a barren box at the Edmonton Zoo, where she is forced to deal with the cold temperatures of Canada virtually alone. This horrific lifestyle has taken a very negative toll on Lucy’s health.

Lucy spends the vast majority of her time locked up in her cage with a swinging tire as her only toy. She spends most of her time sitting and staring as strangers pass back and forth in front of her cold glass enclosure.

“She spends her days alone in a glass cage where the walls are painted with artificial trees. The only trees she has access to are behind electric fencing, just out of reach,” said Mary-Anne Holmes, the co-founder of the Lucy Edmonton Advocate’s Project (LEAP).

Lucy was captured in Sri Lanka when she was just a calf in 1977, and she is now 43 years-old. After her capture, Lucy did not even see another elephant for 12 years. It wasn’t until 1989 that the zoo finally shipped in another baby African elephant, Samantha, for Lucy to “Mother.”

Lucy and Samantha bonded for the next 18 years, but sadly, the zoo separated the younger elephant in 2007 and sent her to North Carolina on a “breeding contract.” Samantha never returned to Edmonton, and Lucy has been alone ever since.

“It was quite devastating for her to go from having a companion, to suddenly being all alone again,” Holmes said. “There are many photos of the two standing right next to each other, and holding trunks together. But the Zoo claimed that Lucy didn’t like her, and that she [Lucy] is actually an antisocial elephant who prefers humans.”

It’s hard to believe that Lucy is anti-social, as elephants are inherently social creatures. In fact, Defenders of Wildlife say that elephants are dependent on social interactions for survival.

“Elephants form deep family bonds and live in tight matriarchal family groups of related females called a herd…When a calf is born, it is raised and protected by the whole matriarchal herd,” they said.

Lucy’s health has rapidly deteriorated because of the conditions she has been living in.

“She suffers from chronic arthritis, foot disease, obesity, stereotypy [repetitive, compulsive movements related to stress] and an undiagnosed respiratory condition,” Holmes said. “The first two are the biggest cause of the premature death of zoo elephants.”

Though LEAP has been fighting to help Lucy since 2015, both the zoo and Edmonton politicians have ignored them.

“In the dead of winter, we’ll have a cold snap for weeks where Lucy will not see the light of day. Other times, she’s been taken outside for ‘walks’ in the snow,” Holmes said. “I have photos of her up to her knees in snow. With her arthritis and joint problems, I can’t imagine how painful that must be.”

Though it’s an uphill battle, Holmes has no intention of giving up.

“Over the years we’ve been watching Lucy slowly decline and we’ve done almost everything we can to help her. But we won’t give up,” she said.

Find out more about Lucy’s story in the video below!