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Asian elephants Tang Mo and Pak Boon will bid farewell to Taronga Zoo after almost two decades to make way for a new mixed species habitat.
The pair will depart the zoo in mid-2025 as part of Taronga’s “Great Migration” and move into a newly established 14-hectare, open-range habitat in South Australia with three other elephants from Auckland Zoo and Perth Zoo.
Their departure will make way for a new, multi-species habitat featuring ‘Hari’, a Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros from Dubbo Zoo, who will join several Water Buffalo.
Greater One-horned Rhinoceros are often referred to as “real-life unicorns” due to their distinctive solo horn which distinguishes them from other rhino species.
Taronga Conservation Society Australia CEO Cameron Kerr said Tang Mo and Pak Boon have been much-loved residents of the zoo arriving in 2006 to establish a regional breeding program.
“While these magnificent creatures will certainly be missed in Sydney, I’m so heartened to plan for their move to Monarto Safari Park where they will be able to join a bigger herd and live in a larger more complex habitat,” Kerr said.
“I’d like to thank the Kingdom of Thailand for their ongoing support of this program and also acknowledge the dedicated keepers and staff across Taronga Zoo Sydney who have cared for our elephants in Sydney for almost two decades.”
Zoos SA Chief Executive Elaine Bensted said Monarto can’t wait to welcome them next year.
“We can’t wait to watch as Pak Boon and Tang Mo settle in alongside Burma, Permai and Putra Mas at Monarto Safari Park, with the two females joining the herd, just as they would in the wild,” she said.
“The most important thing is to get all the elephants safely to their new home in South Australia and that they settle and start to benefit from being in a social herd.”
