For more than 100 year, the Ringling Bros. circus has been traveling the U. S. with exotic animals and its three-ring show under the big top tent.

That is all coming to an end. Feld Entertainment, the owners of the circus for the last 50 years announced that it will hold its last performance later this year in May. Feld officials say the combination of high operating costs and declining ticket sales, especially after taking elephants out of the circus’ act, took a toll on their bottom line.

There will be 30 more Ringling Bros. shows before the final one sometime in May. The circus had a hard time for years from animal rights groups who did not want them to use elephants in their shows. They were phased out, but Ringling Bros. still runs an elephant conservation center in Florida.

Ringling Bros. was founded in Wisconsin in 1884 by five Ringling brothers.

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