Asian elephant Burma enjoys her new digs in Australia

We have a special Burma-sized update for her New Zealand whānau!

It’s been just over a year and a half since Burma moved to Monarto Safari Park in Australia to create a new herd of Asian elephants in South Australia.

You might remember this familiar face, as the Zoos SA elephant team is led by Elephant Manager Andrew Coers (previously Auckland Zoo’s Elephants Team Leader) who relocated to South Australia from Auckland with Corryn and their family to continue to care for Burma.

Now 42 years old, Burma has had some exciting new experiences. “Burma is really starting to adapt and settle into her new home. She’s been making the most of the fresh grass and really enjoying grazing on sunny days,” explains Andrew.

In this video update on Auckland Zoo's YouTube channel, you can see Burma breaking up and devouring a ripe watermelon with her trunk, which is something she clearly enjoys and is one of her favourite foods in warmer weather.

“She's always loved to dust bathe, and there's plenty of opportunities to do that here- whether it's with the sand or the clay. She also loves to swim and has made use of the habitat’s waterholes, which is fantastic.”

A new herd for elephant Burma

‘Elephants of Asia’ at Monarto Safari Park is a 12-hectare open range safari with a variety of habitat spaces and watering holes for female elephants Burma, Permai, Pak Boon, Tang Mo and male Putra Mas.

Burma and Pak Boon share a growing relationship, that is developing over time. “Although Burma and Pak Boon are very independent and enjoy their own company, it’s nice seeing them come together and interact through the soft fence separating the habitat or the internal barrier within the barn,” says Andrew.

“We’ve had the most amazing support from the South Australia community falling in love with all the elephants, but I’ve especially loved meeting so many people from New Zealand making the effort to pop in and check in on Burma. She is such the advocate for her species and bringing people closer to nature.”

Zoos’ conserving wild elephants in Asia

Andrew Coers is a passionate advocate for elephants and how tough they’re doing in the wild.

Auckland Zoo has been partnered with the Centre for Conservation and Research and supporting their conservation work for wild elephants in Sri Lanka since 2011. Zoos Australia also support the programme starting when Burma, the first elephant to arrive at the park, arrived in 2024.

More than 150 elephants and 50 humans are killed in Sri Lanka every year from human-elephant conflict (HEC). While poaching is a more significant threat for African elephants, HEC is the greatest threat to elephants in Asia. With elephant habitat shrinking every year from human encroachment, these conflicts between wildlife and humans are only increasing.

It’s estimated that there are around 52,000 Asian elephants in the wild. All of these elephants cannot be placed in protected sanctuaries and roughly two thirds live close to human communities. Local farmers can become frustrated when crops, their source of income, are raided by elephants, and as a result elephants can be shot at, maimed or chased away. The research and monitoring work carried out by CCR helps to identify where elephants are roaming (via tracking collars) and what infrastructure can be put into place to support their safe movement, as well as community education programmes.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this update for #WorldElephantDay, if you’re planning to visit South Australia pay a visit to beloved Burma and the team at Monarto Safari Park.