In what could be seen as the end of an era, the Los Angeles Zoo has decided to transfer its two remaining Asian elephants, Billy and Tina, to the Tulsa Zoo's Elephant Experience and Preserve in Oklahoma. This decision was made public last Tuesday, aiming to benefit Billy, aged 40, and Tina, aged 59, by providing them the opportunity to live with other elephants in a more suitable habitat.
The move comes after the deaths of two other elephants at the LA Zoo—Jewel, who died in 2023 at the age of 61, and Shaunzi, who died in 2024 at 53. Both elephants were reportedly euthanized because of declining health issues that were "unrelated to the Zoo's enclosure," the zoo officials claimed in a statement obtained by CBS Los Angeles and echoed by other sources. Following the move, the Zoo plans to temporarily pause its elephant program and reevaluate the Elephants of Asia exhibit.
The Elephant Experience and Preserve in Tulsa that Billy and Tina are set to join is expansive, spanning 17 acres. It includes a 36,000-square-foot elephant barn and a wooded preserve, designed to provide a more natural environment for the elephants. Information about the existing Asian elephants and the facility's design was detailed in reports from the Los Angeles Zoo's official website and NBC Los Angeles.
Zoo officials were keen to point out that the relocation decision has been under consideration for a significant amount of time and is not linked to the recent budget proposal by Mayor Karen Bass, which included potential layoffs for city employees. They were adamant in their assurances to provide the highest level of animal care. "The decision is driven by the L.A. Zoo’s unwavering commitment to the health and wellbeing of all the animals in its care," the zoo officials stated, as noted by FOX Los Angeles. A date for the actual relocation has not been set, but zoo patrons have been informed there is still time to visit the elephants before their departure.
The elephants' journeys to the Los Angeles Zoo were marked by conservation and human-animal conflict issues that resonate even today. Billy was relocated from Malaysia in 1989 due to habitat fragmentation, while Tina arrived from the San Diego Zoo in 2010 after being confiscated and rehabilitated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture along with her companion Jewel. The pair had previously spent 30 years together in private ownership.
