Auckland Zoo's newest and heaviest addition has arrived at last - the nearly 9-year-old elephant Anjalee has flown in from the tropics and is settling in to a slightly colder climate.
The 1.7 tonne female Asian elephant was brought from Sri Lanka to New Zealand, via Niue for a 3-month quarantine, to keep the zoo's 32-year-old female elephant Burma company. Burma had been lonely since her friend Kashin died in 2009.
![A large crane lifted Anjalee and her crate into her new enclosure. Photo / Nick Reed](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/F7J35ZFRGOPSXT4GD3N6GO3TJE.jpg?auth=29428135d18fc00718b73cf3e19179ac91d2e0dabbf43b276010ed178050b7af&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)
It wasn't a straightforward trip for the young orphan, who stands 2 metres tall - she was flown form Colombo to Auckland in March on a freight plane, before being transferred to a New Zealand Defence Force C-130 Hercules and flown to Niue, a 30-plus hour flight, for quarantine and testing to confirm she was disease free.
In Niue, she spent a lot of time chasing chickens around her enclosure.