Monarto Safari Park elephant herd doubles in size

Monarto Safari Park's elephant herd has doubled in size with the arrival of two new female Asian elephants.

Pak Boon and Tang Mo travelled 22 hours from Sydney, arriving safely at the park and settling into their barns on Wednesday.

They join Burma, who was the first elephant to be welcomed last November, and Permai, who arrived earlier this year.

Over the next few days, 32-year-old Pak Boon and 26-year-old Tang Mo will have the chance to settle into their new habitat and undergo mandatory quarantine time.

Zoos SA chief executive Phil Ainsley said that it was a huge milestone for the elephant program, with the founding four females now all on site.

“These moves don’t just happen, there’s been an incredible amount of hard work and planning that has gone into preparing all four elephants and our elephant habitat for this moment," he said.

“It’s an exciting time for our team now, to get to know Pak Boon and Tang Mo, to learn their personalities and see how the relationships across the herd develop."

Dedicated elephant keepers will work with all four elephants, reading their signs, signals, behaviours and mannerisms, to know when they are ready to begin introductions.

Pak Boon and Tang Mo’s arrival completes the female cohort for the founding herd at Monarto Safari Park’s 12-hectare habitat.

Pak Boon and Tang Mo's truck driver, Joe Papaluca, said this was a bucket list job.

“Transporting elephants isn't the sort of job that comes up very often, it's a first for us and one to tick off the list,” he said.

"We had many hands up from our team to join this one.” 

Monarto Safari Park elephant manager Andrew Coers said both elephants had unloaded from the truck well, and that it was great to see them reunite after the trip.

“Shortly after entering the barn, the girls were using their trunks to dust bath and both have been eating, drinking and sleeping, which is very encouraging," he said.

“Burma and Permai were very curious to see what was going on, and we saw the right signs from both, as well as from Pak Boon and Tang Mo, that they were keen to make that first initial introduction.

“They displayed curiosity and gentle behaviours towards each other, which is a great first step towards further interactions in the future."

Tang Mo, translating to "watermelon" in Thai, is a highly intelligent elephant and always up for an enrichment challenge and training session, usually giving a high-pitched chirp when keepers arrive each morning.

Pak Boon, meaning "morning glory flower" in Thai, is strong-willed, determined, energetic and enjoys her daily baths with keepers.

Later in the year the four cows will be joined by 35-year-old male Putra Mas from Perth Zoo.

• More information: monartosafari.com.au/elephants-at-monarto.