Say goodbye to Ringling elephants walking through the streets

Animal activists everywhere can rejoice. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced plans to phase out the use of elephants in their acts. By 2018, the historic circus will no longer feature the animals, which also means an official end to the annual New York Elephant Walk —a mainstay of the circus’ arrival in town.

According to Google Maps, the elephant walk from Queens, through the Midtown Tunnel, to Madison Square Garden —the circus’ usual New York venue— is about 2 miles long and would take a human 40 minutes to walk.

Here’s a look at some of those New York City moments we’ll be happy to say good bye to.

The elephants were paraded through New York for 30 years.

“There’s been somewhat of a mood shift among our consumers,” said Alana Feld, executive vice president of Feld Enertainment, Ringling’s parent company.

Tamara Weston is a Los Angeles native turned New Yorker turned Miamian. She’s a digital team manager and the digital producer for AMERICA with Jorge Ramos.