Bringing Asian Elephants to South Australia | Episode 2: Elephant arrivals part 1

[00:00:00]Welcome to episode two of our special retrospective series following the journey to bring Asian elephants to Manato Safari Park. In this chapter, we follow the remarkable journey of the first elephants arriving at Manato Safari Park and reflect on the vital care, collaboration, and community support that made this happen. Moving elephants across countries and across Australia is an enormous undertaking.

[00:00:26]Every part of the process from training and crate preparation to transport logistics and planning all centered around the best possible welfare outcomes with each tiny detail carefully considered to ensure the elephants arrive safely and comfortably. This episode captures the emotion, collaboration, and dedication behind the first arrivals, including the heartfelt farewells from the teams at Oakland Zoo and Perth Zoo. It was a moment years in the making and one we're incredibly proud to share with you. What we've chosen to do is fly uh the girls across to Australia and it really just keeps that whole journey a lot shorter. They might spend [music] less than 20 hours inside the transport crate versus, you know, [music] anywhere from 4 to 5 days traveling on a ship. Burma's crate um has been um specially made for her.

[00:01:18][music] Uh it's probably the largest crate, you know, that you could build to fit in an aircraft that we're using. And so it was actually built quite local just down the road here.

[00:01:28]>> You don't build elephant crates that often. And so for Tim and our project managers team, it was an interesting project for him. They all did an incredible job and we've got a really good product at the end of it um that we're really happy with. So the idea around the size of the crates, there's obviously a limited amount of space within an aircraft, but actually more importantly, [music] it's about um providing a safe space for the elephant, giving them enough space where they feel comfortable and they can move to some degree, [music] but we can't give them too much movement. And that's to do with their safety during the move. The last thing we want is them injuring themselves. And by giving [music] them plenty of space that they can move, bang, hurt themselves on, we just don't want to be doing that.

[00:02:10]I'm Mandy Everett and I'm the manager of exotic fauna at Toangazi Sydney. Our two Asian elephant cows, Tangmo and Pacon, will be heading off to their new home at Manato Safari Park in the end of March.

[00:02:21]While it is a bittersweet farewell to Tango and Pacon, we are really, really excited about where they're headed to.

[00:02:27]They'll be meeting up with some other elephants, so two other cows from different zoos in our region and also a bull. And they'll be forming a really lovely social herd. So, it's a really great future for those two. So, moving two Asian elephants um all the way to South Australia is a mammoth task and our elephant keepers are really busy at the moment preparing the girls for that trip. We'll be transporting Tang Mo and Pacoon in special crates that have been designed just for them. They're really safe and really comfortable and the keepers at the moment are getting them used to their crates. So, they've got a crate in place already, and the girls are spending a little bit of time every day exploring the crate, spending a bit of time in the crate, getting used to wearing their seat belts, so some special safety uh leg bands that they'll be wearing for their journey to keep them really, really safe and comfortable. And so, they're really enjoying that experience at the moment.

[00:03:21]>> Good. Okay, Burma. Good girl.

[00:03:24]Preparations for Burma's move is going really well. We've had a big focus on getting Burma prepared for her crate, you know, and comfortable with her crate.

[00:03:32]>> Whoa. Okay, hit.

[00:03:35]>> What a clever girl.

[00:03:37]>> Good job, Burma.

[00:03:38]>> Well done. Keep it going, Ha.

[00:03:40]>> We've actually just started early morning sessions, like around 5:00 in the morning. We want to kind of prepare for any scenarios. So, yeah, late in the evening, early in the morning. An example that might be like when we shut the door, the shadows that you might get from the front lights and things like that, that just changes the whole feeling for Burma and something that she has to get used to.

[00:04:01]>> That's a girl. Good girl.

[00:04:04]>> So, Burma's moving to Monado Safari Park. She's going to be the first of five elephants actually coming together um on a new facility that's been built there.

[00:04:14]>> It's all getting very close now. I think we just poured 70 cubic meters of concrete today. There's a roof going on somewhere. The water's in. We've got an office now for our new keepers, which will be looking after the elephants, all five elephants eventually. Um, no, it's been a great week. Actually, >> Monado is a very large property. I think it's 1500 hectares. The elephant habitats, uh, there's four habitats and they take up about 30 acres. So each one of these four habitats have got either a claylined water hole and then [music] one of the habitats has got a real beautiful concrete line water hole that we can clean regularly that the elephants can kind of go in and really submerge and roll around and have a really good time in Burma's been here for 34 years and so she has met a lot of people within her time here. She's [music] connected with a lot of people. I think not only has it been important for the visitors to connect with Burma, but also I guess what it's meant for conservation for elephants out there. You know, our ability to deliver our field work conservation over in Sri Lanka. We've had some amazing experiences, you know, myself personally, but for the work that, you know, the center for conservation research [music] do when it comes to understanding and how to, you know, manage these wild elephant populations that are in huge conflict with people every day, you know. And I guess the role that Burma has played in advocating for that here.

[00:05:51]>> Burma can't stay. She can't stay on her own. She needs to be around other elephants and less reliance on us as keepers [music] to kind of have to manage that behavior and keep her busy.

[00:06:00]And so acknowledging that, we will want to make sure that we've done the right planning, everything's in place to give us the best possible chance.

[00:06:11]Come move day, it's actually a bit of a complex procedure. There's actually a lot going on pre actually getting even put into her crate.

[00:06:20]Once we get her in a crate and we've got her settled, we've then got a crane on standby [music] that's going to crane her up and bring her over the moat that you see here and then onto a flatbed truck.

[00:06:45]>> And then we're going to make our journey to the airport. [music] Want [music] to try one of these? Oh, yes. What about that? Want to try that?

[00:07:04]>> You got that one. All right.

[00:07:05]>> She was like, >> crate is specifically designed for her and some of the limitations to within an aircraft. So, [music] she's getting flown on a commercial kind of cargo flight. We've actually fully charted that flight. And what you'll see, one side has been counter levered. It's got a bit of a cut in one side. [music] And that's so we can kind of get her in and bend her around the corner and get her lined up within the aircraft.

[00:07:38]These two keepers, Laurel and Odin, they've actually got to shoot off and catch their commercial flight to Adelaide, and they're going to hopefully meet us within kind of 30 minutes of Burma arriving. Karina and myself and James, a vet, we're going to be traveling with Burma on her cargo flight. Through the flight, we can kind of jump out of our seats and just check on her, make sure that she's settled through that journey, and then just provide some reassurance um if she needs it. So, we're doing the most we can do to give her the the least stressful move as possible.

[00:08:07]>> Do another one. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Good girl.

[00:08:12]>> Yeah. Just come off the plane now. She appears to be doing really, really well, which is great. A huge relief that we've got this far. And yeah, incredibly mixed emotions. Massive, massive fear almost about going back to the zoo cuz she's not there anymore.

[00:08:29]Um, and we're going to have to get used to that. people have grown up with her and she's now on her next [music] chapter of her life. The team have done an incredible job in preparing her for the move which is why she's done so well and this is the incredible dedication that they've shown. They've given up so much here over over such a long period of time not just to try and get the program established here but but once we made the difficult [music] decision to end the program to do everything they could. So, they're just incredibly grateful and humbled by what they've sacrificed for her and what they will continue to sacrifice for her by moving their lives over to Manato um to get her settled in.

[00:09:21]Elephants have been a huge part of Oakland Zoo's history and it's a bit of an end of an era um for all of us and so um yeah it's a super tough time. The bitter part of it as well is it's a [music] pretty sad time I think for New Zealanders. Like you look at the amount of people that come and visit her and see her and kind of the impact that she has on our visitors is huge. We get a lot of that feedback either face to face with visitors concerned about her going and perhaps thinking that she should stay. And I guess I want to reassure those people that, you know, we are doing the right thing for her and as hard as it is for all of us, you know, that we have got her best interest at heart and that we're going to do everything we can.

[00:10:03]We're going to do everything we can to make sure that it's success.

[00:10:06]>> Get this one.

[00:10:08]There's a big trunk.

[00:10:10]Good girl.

[00:10:12]We're fortunate for Oakland Zoo for supporting us in this is that we actually moved with her for a period of time. to the team that have known her for you know 25 plus years. Some of us are actually going to be there to support her through [music] this process. Not only for the you know her move and for the weeks after that but also when these other elephants are coming together [music] and through that intra whole introduction process the team have been incredible [music] and although some of us will be sticking together some of us also won't be. They mean a lot to me and to each other actually. And so I just they need to know that I um I'm grateful for the commitment and the dedication that they've given um the program. We've always put the program first and um and yeah, they mean a great deal.

[00:10:59]>> Oh, you're doing good. Yes, you are.

[00:11:03]Well done.

[00:11:04]>> [music] >> I guess the sweet part of it is is that it'd be great to be able to take that step back [music] and actually see her fulfilling her day with the companionship of other elephants around her to give her the the the herd of elephants that she deserves and that she's got that ability to settle down and enjoy her new life um in her forever home at Monado.

[00:11:23]We want to thank people, you [music] know, for all the support that they have given us and we'll look to keep people updated with how she's going, particularly when all the other elephants arrive um and how those introductions work. But then also, yeah, into the future, we'll we'll keep people updated.

[00:11:40]>> After a rockstar welcome, Burma the elephant is making herself at home at Manato Safari Park. Two officials have confirmed she's recovered well from her mammoth journey.

[00:11:52]One big beaming smile from SA's big, beautiful Burma.

[00:11:56]>> We feel a mixture of um enormous pride in what's been achieved, but also an enormous amount of relief.

[00:12:02]>> The first pictures of Burma in her new home proof her journey across the ditch went without a hitch >> and from all reports was remarkably calm, was eating before the flight, was eating during the flight, and has been exploring the habitat this morning, eating, drinking, pooing, and weing normally. These were the 42-year-old's final moments in Oakland. An emotional farewell for the matriarch who'd spent 34 years there. A light seditive prepared her for the 16-hour journey.

[00:12:30]Her keepers Andrew and Karen followed her every step of the way. Her jumbo jet is understood to be the most tracked flight around the world yesterday. Then her rockstar welcome.

[00:12:41]>> Oh my god, you guys got so excited. It's fantastic. From the airport to Manato, where dozens turned out as the truck made that final turn into her new home, >> I actually had tears in my eyes. I am the biggest lover of elephants, and anyone who knows me knows that I would never miss this.

[00:12:57]>> It was great to be able to just see her come through.

[00:13:00]>> This marks a sad moment for New Zealand, though. There is no longer an elephant living in the country. It's anticipated we'll see a tourism boom of Kiwis coming to visit. So I can't give an exact date to the public of when they will be able to see Burma because in many ways that will be dictated by Burma herself.

[00:13:18]>> Burma's next challenge 38° forecast at Monato on Saturday. Casey Trour 7 News.

[00:13:26]>> Very very excited. We're just about to hit the road with Pamay all the way from Perth to Monado Safari Park in Adelaide, her forever home. We're very very excited. We'll try and keep everyone updated as we go, but her welfare is the priority. Yeah, the team have done exceptionally well this morning. They safely got her into the crate. All that conditioning and training has really paid off and it was the least amount of stress possible. Everything's going to plan. She's safely locked in the crate now and we're watching her with CCTV cameras as we speak.

[00:13:56]We've now got a long road journey all the way from Perth to Monado Safari Park. Being one of the most isolated zoos in the world, we're very well verssed at large animal travel across the nullore. We have a huge team with us of specialist vets, some of her carers.

[00:14:13]She's under, as I said, CCTV camera. The crate is insulated on the roof. It has two air conditioners. We're carrying over 1,000 L of water, and her welfare is the priority. We've mapped out the route that we're taking, but it should take just over two days. Very excited, but it's a bittersweet moment to know that uh she's finally going to her forever home, but she'll no longer be at Pursuit. So her welfare is the priority to get her with other elephants is a priority and that's our main goal. Okay.

[00:14:42]When we arrive at Monado Safari Park, there'll be more logistics of unloading her and getting her safely into the new facility. After that, once she settles in, we're going to introduce her to Burma and build that bond before the Tonga animals arrive in March. My hopes for Pamay in the future are to be accepted into a matriarchal herd to have all the elephant company and live out a life in fantastic welfare at Monado Safari Park.

[00:15:08]>> It's an exciting time here at Manado Safari Park. Our construction team and contracts have been working really really hard because Perma's on her way here. As a team, we we can't wait for that first initial interaction between Perma and Burma. And so when it comes to the introduction, how long that might take. It could be within a couple of days. It also could be a few weeks. It's just like people and sort of those initial interactions that one might have with one another. Also, something else we have to think about is that Puma's had a really long journey. So she might need a couple of days rest just to recoup before we even consider putting them in together. It does take a time for relationships to form and so it's not going to be like an instant um chemistry between both elephants but over time particularly when the Tonga elephants come as well there hopefully within the four elephants there will be little relationships between each of them where they might prefer to hang out with um particular elephants over other ones and that's a benefit of bringing four elephants together to formulate the mana safari puck herd you know super excited to have permi here and um you know Burma kind of getting the companionship ship that she deserves and Perma herself as well. Um in terms of where they're at at the moment, yeah, it is as John said, it is about um giving Perma a chance to rest. It's been such a long journey for her. Now, they have had uh interactions um through the bolards which has actually been really promising and uh we're seeing some really good signs. At the end of the day, we uh we want, you know, permai sleeping, eating and drinking, doing all the things that she should be doing properly first before we think about um actually letting them share the same space together. But um yeah, we're really excited for um where we're going. In the first instance when she first arrived, we felt like Burma actually knew that there was another elephant in the area and she was a bit of reluctance actually to come into the barn. And so what we actually ended up doing is um modifying our situation. We actually brought Burma into a new extension of the barn and brought her through another area which um created another opportunity for them for the meat. And um it was about what 6:00 last night they actually came together and that's what you want. You want them to come together. They link trunks. They put trunks over each other and they give a little bit of push and shove. That's all good stuff. They're just trying to sus each other out. Uh this morning was even better because that's when they actually um kind of were sniffing each other nice and gently and and yes, I won't say what I was about to say. We're lifting each other uh in good ways and um and some real gentle touching and that's what we want as well. Um what we still need though is um and what we what's quite obvious to us at the moment is that we need uh perma to have a rest and get her eating and sleeping properly and then we can think about opening doors and this sort of stuff. She actually had a it was actually really really nice uh her keepers that followed her here. um she came up to the to the bolards and just stood with them with her trunk nicely droop while they just stroking her face and she actually had a doze then. So they elephants can stand and doze and shut their eyes and that's kind of what she did and and that was really beautiful to see.

[00:18:05]>> So it's been nearly 3 weeks since Permi arrived at Monado. Her journey over was a bit of a tough one for her. It was quite stressful. So, her settling in period is taking a lot longer than anticipated, but we are hoping that over time she will start to find her comfort and her safety in this new space and getting to know Burma. There's no time frame for how long an elephant will take to settle in or to make new friends.

[00:18:33]It's like putting two people together.

[00:18:34]You can't expect them to become best friends straight away. So, we really need to be patient, allow her to tell us what she needs to do next and hope that in the future her and Burma can start to form a bit of a relationship.

[00:18:48]>> So, as Jody said, uh you know, we all have different personalities and like putting two people in a room, um you can't expect people just to get on and elephants are, you know, exactly the same. They got such huge characters. uh their personalities are very different and sometimes some people just um you know aren't so fond of of one another.

[00:19:08]Um and you'll get that in the elephant world as well. Uh for Burma, she's um you know done really well. She's surprised us a lot throughout the whole move um getting here and then settling in as well. There's so much for her to take on and uh bless her like she has done amazingly. Um and right up until Permay's uh arrival here, um she's doing all the right things and um you know really is intrigued with uh Permi. Um but as we said, you know, we'll see where they settle with each other and where they sort of find themselves um with with one another.

[00:19:43]>> Permi has always been a bit of a cheeky elephant. She marches to the beat of her own drum. She loves learning new things and she loves to play as well. So, our hope was that bringing all the girls here together, she might get the opportunity to have some playtime again and start exploring with other elephants. She's had a a pretty rough last couple of years after losing Trish and there's been a lot of changes at Per Zoo, so her mental state has shifted quite a bit.

[00:20:14]So, here we're not seeing the elephant that we know back home, which is pretty tough. Um, but we're hoping in time she will start to settle into it and show us, show Adelaide who she really is and have everyone really fall in love with her.

[00:20:29]>> What you've seen in this episode marks the arrival of the first elephants at Monado Safari Park and the beginning of an exciting new chapter. But the journey was far from over. In episode three, we welcome Pac Boon and Tang Mo from Turanga Zoo before the arrival of Putramas from Perth Zoo, completing the move of all five Asian elephants to Manato Safari Park.

[00:20:55]You'll hear from the teams involved in these complex transfers and how months of planning, preparation, and collaboration helped ensure each elephant arrives safely in South Australia.

[00:21:08]We'll also begin to see the elephants settling into their new surroundings and taking the next steps in their journey at Monato Safari Park.

[00:21:18]We'll see you in episode