Online petition has attracted signatures tomove 69yearold Hanako to sanctuary

In the humble zoo, among the small cages of owls, guinea pigs and raccoons, Japan's oldest elephant stands in a concrete pen about the size of half of a basketball court. She drinks sugar water from a bucket and munches on bananas with her last remaining tooth while a debate is being waged about where she should live out her final years.

A gift from the Thai government in 1949, Hanako, or "flower child", has lived in a zoo since she was two and her current 69 years is about the lifespan of captive Asian elephants.