Perth Zoo elephant begins journey to Monarto Safari Park

Perth Zoo's last remaining female elephant, Permai, has commenced her road journey to her new home at South Australia's Monarto Safari Park.

Permai was this morning loaded into a custom-built crate, then lifted by crane onto the back of a truck before beginning her 2,700 kilometre country journey.

Perth Zoo officials said Permai was enjoying some watermelon after being given a light sedative before the crane lifted the 4-tonne crate, with the 4-tonne elephant inside, onto the truck.

Permai’s new home at Monarto Safari Park's open-range enclosure in Adelaide - where she is expected to arrive on Wednesday morning - covers 14 hectares (almost the size of the entire Perth Zoo).

Elephant keeper Jody Polson has been with Permai for 10 years and is not only on the truck for the journey but will also be living in Adelaide for the next six to 12 months to help her settle in.

Polson recently told the ABC "I see these elephants more than my friends and family, so it's safe to say that they are my family.”

"So making sure that she's got that constant in her life for a little bit longer before everything changes was really important to me.”

The decision to relocate the Perth Zoo's last two Asian elephants, Permai and the male Putra Mas, was announced in 2018 - with it set to happen after the death of matriarch Tricia, which occurred in 2022.

Preparing for Permai's move has taken years of planning, and while flying was considered, it was decided driving would be best for her welfare.

With male Asian elephant Putra Mas set to follow later in the year, the pair will live in an enclosure that will eventually house five elephants.

The group will then have sufficient diversity for breeding.

With Perth Zoo to be without elephants for the first time in decades, their departure will trigger another round of development at the attraction, which is currently installing a gibbon run that will triple their habitat and allow patrons to walk beneath the primates as they enter the zoo.

It will also welcome two new rhinoceros and, in the longer term, the zoo will expand the African Savannah, with plans to introduce new species.

The project will cost an estimated $30 million and take several years to complete.

Images: Perth Zoo's last remaining female elephant, Permai (top) and an artist's impression of the new giraffe enclosure at Perth Zoo (below). Credit: Perth Zoo.