Visitors will be able to see the elephants from the Zu-loop bus as part of a standard visit.

It’s too early to say exactly what experiences will be available.

What we do know, is that all visitor interactions with elephants will be from behind a protective barrier, for the safety of both visitors and elephants.

Elephant keepers from the respective zoos will travel with the elephants and help them to settle into their new home at Monarto Safari Park.

Whether these elephant keepers decide to stay on at Monarto Safari Park is as yet undetermined. However, we will make sure that any keeper caring longterm for Asian Elephants at Monarto Safari Park has the relevant experience to do so.

We acknowledge that elephant husbandry requires a depth of unique knowledge and skills and all staff that work with the elephants will be highly specialised. 

The initial two female elephants that could come to Monarto Safari Park are past breeding age.

Putra Mas (male) has already played an important role in the species’ regional breeding program, introducing new and valuable genetics into the pool. In 2018, he sired a calf through artificial insemination resulting in a female born in New South Wales. Putra Mas is still in his breeding age.

As we move to expand our herd we will work with the Asian Elephant Regional Breeding Program to increase our breeding capacity.

Asian Elephants are classified by the IUCN as endangered with an estimation that there are less than 52,000 Asian Elephants remaining in the wild, making regionally coordinated conservation programs more critical than ever.  

By bringing the elephants to Monarto Safari Park, Zoos SA will play an important role in raising awareness of elephant conservation. We will also contribute to in situ conservation programs for Asian Elephants. 

As stated in our Master Plan, Zoos SA has remained open to homing elephants at Monarto Safari Park. Initially there are three Asian Elephants that would benefit from a new home right now. We have put the elephants' social needs first and prioritised this project. 

 As a conservation charity, we want to work with fellow accredited zoos to find the best home for elephants in the region so that we can improve their social structure. Creating a home for elephants at Monarto Safari Park is not only exciting, but it's also the right thing to do, especially for females who live in herds in the wild.

Creating a home for elephants at Monarto Safari Park is the right thing to do for elephants, especially for females who live in herds. This is a decision which has been carefully considered by our Board. 

The total cost of building the elephant habitat and transferring the animals to South Australia will be around $6.5 million. With all three Zoo partners contributing, we have a fundraising goal of $2.025 million. 

We want to assure staff, volunteers and supporters that this project will not take funds away from other planned Capital needs.

Our contribution to the project will create a debt but the repayments for this will not begin until the first elephants are at Monarto Safari Park and Zoos SA is receiving extra revenue from visitation to meet them.

While many believe that Zoos SA is Government-run, we are not. Zoos SA is a private conservation charity. Bringing elephants to Monarto Safari Park is an enormous project, so we need to fundraise. We are calling on the community to help us create a home for the elephants.

Zoos SA is involved in many breeding programs for native animal conservation, including the Greater Bilby, Brush-tailed Bettong, Tasmanian Devil and Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby. Our conservation efforts are focused on both native species programs within Australia as well as international programs in other regions for which we have ambassador species, including Asia, Africa and Europe.

 As a conservation charity and accredited member of Zoos SA, we work with fellow accredited zoos to assure the best welfare outcomes for animals in our care. In the case of Asian Elephants we are in the position to be able to offer any elephants a large habitat that will improve their social structure situation. Creating a home for elephants at Monarto Safari Park is not only exciting, but it's also the right thing to do for these elephants, especially for females who live in herds.

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