Elephant Move Could Be Quite the Exhibition
Saturday, Apr 25, 2009 | Updated 5:12 PM PDT
Don Boomer/North County Times
Cookie is one of four Asian elephants at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park that will be moved to a new Elephant Odyssey exhibit at the zoo before the exhibit's opening May 23.
Officials at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park said this week they will move four Asian elephants into a new, multispecies exhibit in the zoo in Balboa Park, the North County Times reported.
Park spokeswoman Yadira Galindo declined to reveal the date of the move, saying only that it will occur before the new exhibit's May 23 opening.
"For the safety of the animals and the staff involved, we do not provide information about any animal moves before they have been completed," she told the paper.
Flat-bed trucks will carry the crates to the zoo, and a caravan that includes keepers, veterinarians, a water truck and a supply truck will accompany the elephants during the trip, she said.
The elephants to be moved ---- a 43-year-old male named Ranchipur, a 54-year-old female named Cookie, a 44-year-old female called Mary, and a 42-year-old female named Cha Cha ---- have lived at the Wild Animal Park for decades.
They will join the zoo's two Asian pachyderms and one African elephant in the new exhibit, called The Harry and Grace Steele Elephant Odyssey.
