Elephants don't have to fly surrounded by chicks to stop them from moving?

In June 2025, a claim circulated online that elephants are made to travel with "hundreds of chicks" during air travel due to the alleged fact that the elephants fear harming the birds so much that they do not move and, therefore, ensure that the planes they are on remain balanced. 

For example, one Facebook user, whose post had amassed more than 51,000 reactions and 35,000 shares as of this writing, wrote (archived):

When an elephant needs to be transported by plane from one country to another—for example, from India to the United States—its crate is filled with… tiny chicks.

Yes, you read that right: little, fragile chicks.

Why?

Because despite their enormous size, elephants are deeply afraid of causing harm. Throughout the entire flight, the elephant stands perfectly still, not daring to move, so as not to risk stepping on a single chick.

That's how the plane stays balanced.

The claim appeared in numerous Facebook posts and spread on X, Instagram and LinkedIn. Numerous readers also contacted Snopes to ask whether elephants are transported in planes alongside chicks to keep them calm.

The social media posts made several other claims about elephants, such as saying that they possess "spindle cells" linked to self-awareness and empathy, that they are modest and that they prefer to die alone. However, these rumors fell outside the scope of this fact check and readers emailed us to specifically ask about whether or not the animals are made to fly next to chicks to keep them calm in order to balance planes.

Guidelines for live animal transport

According to guidelines and best practices published by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), live animals must travel in appropriate containers that allow them to remain safe and move enough to be comfortable. IATA published its 51st edition of Live Animal Regulations for transport on Jan. 1, 2025.

A spokesperson for the organization said via email that there is "no mention of chickens" in the section of the regulations regarding the transportation of elephants. Therefore, the claim that they need to fly next to chicks in planes is false.

Indeed, in 2019, one elephant named Ramba traveled from Chile to a sanctuary in Brazil. For that trip, the team responsible for her transport built a large steel container that was five meters long, two meters wide and three meters high to comfortably fit Ramba, who had days to acclimate herself to it beforehand in order to limit the amount of stress she endured. The IATA discourages sedation if it is possible to avoid it (see the 'During the flight' section of the previous link).

The container was then loaded onto a cargo Boeing 747 plane, which flew to Brazil along with other cargo. The Brazilian elephant sanctuary documented Ramba's journey on Facebook and at no point did it mention or show that chicks were included in the container.

A Google search for "elephants fly with chicks" and a Google News search for the same terms produced no results suggesting the claim was true.