Editorial: Raise your trunks for Burma's new friends

Burma has been the only elephant at Auckland Zoo for nearly two years, but is about to get some new company. Photo / Greg Bowker

Auckland Zoo is rightly trumpeting its decision to borrow millions to bring two "orphan" elephants to Western Springs from Sri Lanka to brighten the life of its lonely incumbent, Burma.

The pair of young Asian elephants will be sourced from a wildlife refuge and after quarantine in Niue, of all places, will replace an empathetic horse as Burma's social network.

It is a neat, cost-effective and animal-friendly solution to the dilemma of how to maintain an elephant presence in Auckland after the death of Burma's longtime buddy Kashin two years ago.

Since then, the focus has been on a grand plan to start a breeding herd of around 10 animals in a greatly expanded and much more costly enclosure which would take out part of Western Springs Reserve next door. This now has been put on hold, not discarded, so that Burma's needs can be met sooner.

The new plan, with the $3.2 million borrowed from the Auckland Council, will also meet the needs of Auckland and the country's children. Nothing brings in the crowds like the Elephas maximus, and zoo officials reckon the costs of bringing Burma's friends can be more than met within a few years as patronage grows.

Conservationists seem split on whether finding a home for two "orphan" female elephants in an urban zoo is negative or positive, but it surely cannot be argued that generations of New Zealanders have formed a stronger commitment to elephant survival through close contact and wonder within the zoo's walls.