Asian elephant herd’s massive move after zoo’s giant expansion

Moving house is a big and emotional business – for animals as well as people.

So when an entire herd of Asian elephants made a historic move from Melbourne to Werribee this week, they shared a moving reunion as they explored their new world-class habitat* for the first time.

In a remarkable logistic* feat, nine elephants, including three adorable calves, were carefully transported 40km in three separate cohorts*, safely completing the journey over the course of five days.

The elephants trumpeted* and exchanged vocalisations* as they emerged from their airconditioned crates to take their first steps in their expansive* new $88 million, 21 hectare home, funded by the Victorian Government. They also touched trunks and flapped their ears – behaviours that signal excitement, affection and a strong social bond.

Werribee Open Range Zoo elephant trail project officer and zookeeper Lucy Truelson said it was awe-inspiring to see the herd explore their new habitat, following years of careful planning to reach this groundbreaking moment.

“They are celebrating and really enjoying their new surroundings,” Ms Truelson said. “They’re playing, exploring the landscape and they’ve slept beautifully. All these things show us that they’re content, confident, happy and thriving. This is everything we could have hoped for.”

The elephant trail is designed to prioritise animal welfare with an unmatched visitor experience. There are six large habitats with mud wallows* fit for roaming, foraging and socialising. The area is the same size as Melbourne Zoo’s entire footprint or the equivalent to five MCG playing fields.

It also includes two mega pools that together hold nearly two million litres of water and offer approximately 1300m sq of swimmable space. Two specially designed elephant barns include a communal sleeping area filled with 3300 tonnes of sand.

Two overpasses will allow the elephants to cross over visitor walking trails, allowing the herd to move between habitats.

With the herd’s welfare the top priority for keepers, Ms Truelson confirmed that visitors will have to wait a few more weeks.

“The elephants are being allowed some quiet time and the opportunity to familiarise themselves with their new home,” Ms Truelson said.

Werribee has never before had resident elephants in its 41-year history and making it happen was a huge operation involving a 21-person keeper team, logistics experts with cranes and trucks, veterinarians and works departments from both zoos, the Department of Transport and even Victoria Police.

WATCH THE VIDEO

POLL

GLOSSARY

• habitat: natural environment in which an animal or plant usually lives
• logistic: the process of planning and organising
• cohort: a group of people who share a characteristic, usually age
• trumpeted: produced a loud call, something elephants do when they’re happy, excited or stressed
• vocalisations: process of producing different sounds
• expansive: extensive, sweeping, spacious
• mud wallows: areas to roll about in mud and water for pleasure

EXTRA READING

Elephant greetings not just g’day

Elephant ‘Happy’ … but not a person

China’s wandering elephants become global stars

QUICK QUIZ

1. How many Asian elephants are in the herd?
2. How many MCG playing fields could fit into their new habitat?
3. How much did the development of the elephant trail cost?
4. How much swimmable space is available for the elephants’ enjoyment?
5. What will allow the elephants to move between habitats?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. An inspirational story
Use the elephant moving event as the inspiration for a short fiction story for children, with a positive message about change. Personify the elephants by giving them human emotions and describe what they might be thinking and feeling at different stages of the moving process.

Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

2. Extension

• Short version – draw a picture of your main character
• Long version – publish your story with illustrations

Time: allow 10-40 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Visual Arts

VCOP ACTIVITY
Stretch your sentence
Find a “who” in the cartoon – a person or an animal. Write it down.

Add three adjectives to describe them better.

Now add a verb to your list. What are they doing?

Add an adverb about how they are doing the action.

Using all the words listed, create one descriptive sentence.