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The Los Angeles Zoo announced Tuesday that it will relocate the remaining two Asian elephants to a vast reserve at Tulsa Zoo in Oklahoma.
Billy, 40 years old, Tina’s elephant movements. 59, bringing decades of debate on animal welfare. They move on to the elephant experience and become a reserve in Tulsa, home to five Asian elephants.
Zoo officials said the decision was made with animal care and well-being being a top priority. The relocation “will give them the opportunity to live among other elephants.”
After the deaths of 53-year-old Shonji and the 61-year-old Jewel, who died a year ago in January 2024, Billy and Tina became the only elephants remaining at the Los Angeles Zoo.
Shaunzi and the gems had weakened health that was unrelated to the zoo’s enclosure and care, the zoo said. They were euthanized due to age-related health issues.
The elephant program has been evaluated over the past year. The decision to move the elephant has nothing to do with the recent proposal to close Los Angeles’ key urban deficits, the Zoo said.
A herd of elephants at San Diego Zoo Safari Park jumped into action to protect their youth after a 5.2 earthquake struck the area.
“The Los Angeles Zoo works tirelessly to ensure that all animals, including elephants, are in the best possible care and that visitors enjoy watching the elephants at the zoo for years,” Lazo said in the announcement. “This decision is driven by an unwavering commitment to the health and well-being of all the animals Lazo cared for.”
The zoo plans to suspend the elephant program in the near future.
Oklahoma’s newly expanded reserve is a 17-acre complex with a 36,650-square-foot elephant barn and over 10 acres of wooded reserves.
No relocation dates are scheduled.
Bill came to Los Angeles in 1989 from the Malaysian Peninsula as a 4-year-old calf. At the time, Malaysia had relocated wild elephants that had damaged palm oil and rubber plantations due to the habitat of animals fragmented by agricultural activities. Some elephants were moved to other habitat areas, while others were sent to the zoo to prevent them from being culled in groups identified as having problems.
Tina came to Lazo from the San Diego Zoo with her companion Jewel in 2010. The two elephants spent 30 years in private possession before being confiscated by the US Department of Agriculture and taken to San Diego for recovery and rehabilitation.
The zoo called for excellent ambassadors for both elephants for the species that helped teach millions of zoo visitors about the threats they face.
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