Blogging About Critters Since 2007

Friday, November 2, 2007

Maggie the Elephant Flown to San Francicso

She was flown about an Air Force C-17 from Anchorage to San Francisco.

The 3.6-tonne-pachyderm was moved from her chilly concrete home in Anchorage in a heated crate for a 5,000-kilometre flight aboard an Air Force C-17.

The 16-hour trip means she will now run free in a 40-hectare enclosure with seven other African elephants. Maggie has not enjoyed the company of other elephants since 1979, when Alaska's only other elephant died. Gardner said the elephants at PAWS were taking their time to introduce themselves, and though they grazed close to each other, they had not yet touched.

The story of the move dominated news in Alaska for the past week. Maggie was accompanied on the trip by two veterinarians, an animal behaviour expert, several handlers, zoo officials and a TV crew for a total entourage of two dozen.


Photo by Collisionality

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