Auckland’s only elephant Burma’s leaves zoo for flight to Adelaide today

Auckland’s only elephant Burma has been trucked across the city to the airport to catch her flight to her new “forever home” in Adelaide.

The Asian elephant was spotted in a crate on the back of a truck-trailer on St Lukes Rd near the intersection with Great North Rd in Mt Albert this morning.

Burma is en route to her new home at South Australia’s Monarto Safari Park.

Auckland Zoo said last week: “On [Tuesday], the zoo’s entire focus is on minimising all disruptions and working to ensure everything goes as safely, smoothly and efficiently for Burma as possible.”

Monarto Safari Park said Burma’s safety was their key priority.

“While Burma is travelling with her trusted keepers which will help to keep her calm and settled, it’s a long day for her and travelling is not something she’s used to,” the zoo said.

The park asked residents of Adelaide to avoid the route Burma will take between the airport and Monarto, adding the public would not be able to see her while she’s in her crate.

The public will be able to see Burma in her new home from mid-December.

“We encourage you to pre-book your admission tickets [on our website] and help us welcome her to her forever home from mid-December,” Monarto Safari Park said online.

South Australia Police is giving Burma a special police escort, the ABC said.

Burma is expected to land about 5pm ACDT (7.30pm NZST).

It marks the end of Burma’s 34 years as a Jafa. She was born in Myanmar (formerly Burma) in 1982 and spent her early years at a logging camp before coming to Auckland in 1990 when she was 8.

Today was not Burma’s first time out of the zoo’s walls, having dropped a large log on her electric fence, disabling it, escaping and spending time in Western Springs Park and then holding up motorists on Great North Rd in January 2004.

In 2020, Auckland Zoo announced its decision to end its elephant programme and move its two remaining elephants - Burma and Anjalee - to new homes with social, multi-elephant herds. Anjalee moved to Australia in 2022, leaving Burma alone here in limbo.

Asian elephants are extremely sociable and typically form groups of six or seven related females that are led by the oldest female, the matriarch, according to World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

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This article was first published by the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.