Burma (elephant)

Individual elephant (born 1982)

Burma

Burma in 2007

Sex| Female
Born| October 1982
Burma (now Myanmar)
Residence| Monarto Safari Park

Burma (born October 1982) is an Asian elephant at Monarto Safari Park in South Australia. Born in Myanmar (then known as Burma), she lived in New Zealand's Auckland Zoo from 1990 to 2024. Another elephant, Kashin, accompanied her until 2009, when Kashin was euthanised. Burma was the only elephant in her enclosure until 2015, when the zoo added a female elephant named Anjalee to the enclosure. The zoo announced in 2020 that they would end their elephant programme and sent Burma to South Australia in 2024.

## Early life

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Burma, an Asian elephant,[1] was born in October 1982[2] in Myanmar (then known as Burma). Before being moved to Auckland Zoo, she lived at a logging camp.[3]

## Auckland Zoo

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Burma in 2015

Burma came to Auckland Zoo in 1990.[3] She initially exhibited "teenage high jinks" with which Kashin, the other elephant in the enclosure, was reported to be impatient.[4] As she got older, these disappeared and the two elephants got along better.[4] Burma was trained to perform actions after being spoken to in Hindi. Hindi was chosen over English in order to prevent her from unintentionally carrying out potentially dangerous commands.[5]

In January 2004, Burma escaped the zoo after dropping a log in her enclosure onto an electric fence, which turned it off. She then went into a moat and "crashed through" the gate of the enclosure's outer fence, allowing her to wander around Western Springs Reserve.[6] She was walked back into the zoo within about an hour.[6][7] As a precaution, nearby roads and on-ramps to a nearby motorway were closed.[7]

In 2008, it was reported that there was "talk of finding a sperm donor for Burma".[4] After the elephant Kashin was euthanised in 2009, Burma became the only elephant at Auckland Zoo.[8] Elephants are social animals that require company, so in 2011 the zoo put a horse, named Cherry, in Burma's enclosure due to concerns about her psychological health. That year, it was reported that there were no signs that Burma was depressed.[9]

The zoo announced in 2011 that it would bring in two elephants from Sri Lanka to build an elephant herd with Burma as its matriarch. One of the elephants never came due to being "caught in court action", and the other one, Anjalee, arrived in 2015 after many delays.[8] The zoo made five attempts at artificially inseminating Anjalee, which all failed. Other methods were considered, but the zoo never got Anjalee pregnant.[8]

Auckland Zoo announced in 2020 that they would be ending their elephant programme and move the elephants out of the zoo. Anjalee was moved to Australia in 2022, which left Burma alone.[10] Burma was set to move to Australia Zoo in 2022, but Australia Zoo suddenly cancelled the move a week beforehand due to concerns about the health of their elephant Megawati. Auckland Zoo said that it was "extremely disappointing" after having planned to move Burma to Australia Zoo for 12 months.[11][12] She was moved to Monarto Safari Park in South Australia in 2024.[3] She was the last elephant in New Zealand,[13] and was described by 1News in 2024 as Auckland Zoo's "star attraction".[3]

## Monarto Safari Park

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Burma arrived at Monarto Safari Park in November 2024.[3] She was given a police escort from Adelaide Airport to the park[14] and was kept in quarantine for a month.[15] She is the first of five elephants that will be housed in a 12-hectare site at the park, and was the first elephant to live in South Australia for 30 years.[3] This group of elephants, drawn from the Auckland Zoo, Perth Zoo, and Taronga Zoo in Sydney, was gathered as part of a new regional breeding programme.[16]

## See also

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* List of individual elephants

## References

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1. ^ "Auckland Zoo's last elephant Burma arrives at her new home in Australia". RNZ. 13 November 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
2. ^ "Come to the Zoo for an elephant-sized birthday". Auckland Zoo. Scoop. 6 November 2006. Archived from the original on 20 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
3. ^ a b c d e f "NZ's only elephant arrives at new 'forever home' in Australia". 1News. 13 November 2024. Archived from the original on 11 December 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
4. ^ a b c "A reluctant star". The New Zealand Herald. 14 September 2008. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
5. ^ "Elephant was following circus order: witness". The New Zealand Herald. 28 April 2012. Archived from the original on 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
6. ^ a b "Elephant packs trunk, escapes zoo". ABC News. 24 January 2004. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
7. ^ a b "Elephant escapes after dropping log on electric fence". The New Zealand Herald. 23 January 2004. Archived from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
8. ^ a b c "The end of Auckland Zoo's elephant era". The Spinoff. 22 April 2021. Archived from the original on 20 June 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
9. ^ "Burma's buddy a horse, of course". The New Zealand Herald. 22 March 2011. Archived from the original on 20 December 2024. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
10. ^ "Burma's last ride: Auckland's only elephant arrives safely at new home in Australia". The New Zealand Herald. 13 November 2024. Archived from the original on 14 November 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
11. ^ "Australia Zoo suddenly scraps plans to take Auckland's elephant Burma". RNZ. 19 April 2022. Archived from the original on 24 November 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
12. ^ "'It's crushing disappointment and frustration': Deal falls through to rehome Auckland Zoo's Burma". RNZ. 27 April 2022. Archived from the original on 23 December 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
13. ^ "Saying goodbye to NZ's last elephant". Newsroom. 22 November 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
14. ^ "Elephant arrives at SA's Monarto Zoo after international flight and police escort through Adelaide". ABC News. 11 November 2024. Archived from the original on 16 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
15. ^ "It's elephant time at Monarto Safari Park". murraybridge.news. 16 December 2024. Archived from the original on 19 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
16. ^ "Welcome, President Trunk: First new elephant arrives at Monarto Safari Park". Murray Bridge News. 13 November 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2025.

## External links

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* Burma having a bath on YouTube