Real Animal Profile No. 4
Animals Behind The Girl in the Kitchen
By Malaysian Author Ranv Ling
In memory of Izumi, who died on 4 April 2017.
Izumi was a female Asian elephant, born in 1955, who lived at Kiryugaoka Zoo in Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. From 1964 until her death, for 53 years, she lived without the company of another elephant.
Her living conditions were extremely limited. According to elephant welfare research, she lived in a small, dark indoor stall, with an outdoor area that had no shade. Animal advocacy groups described her enclosure as largely bare concrete.
On 4 April 2017, Izumi died in her early sixties, soon after elephant biologist Dr Keith Lindsay saw her during a survey of solitary elephants in Japan.
1. Her Life: Alone at Kiryugaoka Zoo
Izumi was born in 1955. By 1964 she was at Kiryugaoka Zoo in Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture, at about nine years old. From then on, she never lived with another elephant.
She spent the following 53 years at the zoo, until her death on 4 April 2017. Animal advocacy groups in Japan listed her among the country’s solitary elephants.
2. A Long Life of Solitude: 53 Years Without the Company of Other Elephants
One of the most difficult aspects of Izumi’s story to overlook is the decades she spent living alone.
Elephants are highly social animals. In the wild, they generally live in family groups, particularly female-led herds whose members often maintain lifelong bonds with their mothers, daughters, sisters and other relatives. They communicate through vocalisations, touch, scent and body movements. They also care for young calves together, offer companionship and develop complex social relationships within their herds.
Izumi, however, spent decades in an environment without the companionship of another elephant.
Research into her living conditions described a small, poorly lit indoor stall and an outdoor area without shade, in an enclosure that campaigners described as largely concrete, offering little natural ground for activities such as dust bathing and wallowing.
In 2017, elephant biologist Dr Keith Lindsay visited Kiryugaoka Zoo while researching his report on solitary elephants in Japan. Izumi died soon after his visit.
These observations raise an important question: even if an elephant lives to an advanced age, does that necessarily mean it has enjoyed a good quality of life?
For elephants, survival involves far more than receiving food and water every day. They also need sufficient space to move, appropriate environmental stimulation and opportunities to interact with members of their own species. The prolonged absence of these conditions can affect their physical and psychological well-being.
3. The Asian Elephant: A Highly Social Forest Giant
The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is the largest land animal in Asia. It is found in parts of South and Southeast Asia, inhabiting forests, grasslands and other natural environments.
An elephant does not simply need a space large enough to accommodate its body. It spends much of each day moving, foraging and exploring its surroundings. It also needs social interaction to maintain relationships within its herd.
Female Asian elephants generally live in matriarchal family groups, where members maintain strong social bonds. Older females often possess valuable knowledge of their environment and help guide the herd towards water sources, food and safe routes.
Keeping an elephant alone for prolonged periods therefore does more than restrict its physical movement. It may also deprive the animal of an essential part of its natural social life.
4. Conservation and Animal Welfare: Does a Long Life Mean a Happy One?
Izumi died in April 2017, in her early sixties, soon after Dr Lindsay’s visit.
In 2017, Dr Lindsay published the report Solitary Elephants in Japan, commissioned by the campaign group Elephants in Japan, after observing 14 solitary elephants in zoos across the country. Izumi was one of them. According to National Geographic, many of these elephants lived in conditions he considered substandard, such as enclosures that were too small and a lack of stimulation.
For elephants, appropriate living conditions should include sufficient space for movement, natural surfaces, environmental enrichment and opportunities to develop social relationships with other elephants.
Izumi’s story reminds us that animal welfare should not be measured solely by whether an animal survives or reaches an advanced age. More importantly, we should consider whether it has the opportunity to express its natural behaviours, explore its surroundings, move freely and interact with others throughout its life.
A long life is certainly worth cherishing. But when a living creature spends decades confined to a limited space, without the companionship of its own kind, we must also ask: what did those long years really mean for the life it was given?
5. The Real Elephant Behind The Girl in the Kitchen
Izumi was the real-life inspiration for Izumiko, a young girl who appears in The Girl in the Kitchen.
In the novel, Izumiko shares a connection with Yongki. Her character was inspired by a real elephant named Izumi, who once existed in this world and spent most of her life in a Japanese zoo.
The fictional Izumiko is not an exact representation of the real Izumi. Her personality, experiences, relationships and afterlife belong to the world of fiction. However, the origin of her character lies in an elephant who truly lived.
For decades, Izumi’s world was confined to the enclosures of a zoo. She never had the opportunity to live alongside her own elephant family.
On 4 April 2017, Izumi’s long life came to an end.
Through The Girl in the Kitchen, I hope to bring these animals back into our memory — animals that were once kept in captivity, used, forgotten or gradually erased from public attention after their deaths.
They may no longer walk through the forests or among the people who once knew them, but their stories need not disappear with them.
References and Further Reading
- National Geographic – 11 August 2017
These Zoo Elephants May Be the Loneliest in the World.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/08/wildlife-watch-japan-zoo-elephants-solitary/ - Animal Rights Center Japan (ARCJ)
Rescue lonely elephants in Japan.
https://arcj.org/en/issues-en/entertainment-en/rescue-lonely-elephants-in-japan/ - Talking Animals – 30 August 2017
Dr. Keith Lindsay, author of “Solitary Elephants in Japan” report.
https://talkinganimals.net/2017/08/dr-keith-lindsay-author-of-solitary-elephants-in-japan-report/
中文版 Chinese version: 小說《廚房裡的女孩》背後的真實動物：Izumi，一頭在日本動物園獨自生活了數十年的大象
Read Animals Behind The Girl in the Kitchen, No. 1 · No. 2 · No. 3 · More elephant stories