Maggie lives all by herself in the frigid Alaska Zoo. She is kept indoors in a concrete room most of the time because of Alaska's year-round cold weather. But standing on concrete is bad for an elephant's feet and legs—even elephants who have larger enclosures than Maggie does still get foot infections and arthritis from lack of exercise and no soft place to walk and lie down. In fact, being confined causes painful foot and leg problems, which is the number one cause of death in captive elephants.

Female elephants are very social—in the wild, they live with their mothers and sisters for their entire lives! The American Zoo and Aquarium Association knows this and says that elephants shouldn't be kept in solitary confinement like Maggie is.