New Zealand’s last elephant Burma and her family of keepers prepare for move to Australia

After 34 years here, New Zealand’s last remaining elephant, Burma, will move to Australia at the end of this year. Herald reporter Jaime Lyth asked her human family, the keepers who love her and will travel with her: How do you get a 3500kg elephant across the Tasman?

The largest brain in New Zealand is moving to Australia as Auckland Zoo’s last, lonely elephant, Burma, prepares to hop the ditch — where she will finally live with other elephants again.

It’ll be a bittersweet day for Auckland Zoo elephant team leader Andrew Coers, who told the Herald he and 41-year-old Burma have pretty much grown up together — they met when they were both teenagers. He was a young weekend work experience volunteer who got hooked.

“I’ve got to say she’s a pretty special elephant,” he said.

“It’s been a privilege really, I’ve been working with her for the last 25 or so years. I was maybe 18 when I started with her and she was in her teenage years too — a handful, a ratbag at times. But I’ve loved that because it’s been exciting and fun to work her through all of those challenges.”

“Even now we’re all still learning, she still teaches us, it’s what keeps our interest and keeps us turning up every day.”

Auckland Zoo's Andrew Coers with Burma, the zoo's last remaining elephant. Photo / Alex Burton

Burma was born in 1982 in Myanmar (formerly Burma) where she spent her early years at a logging camp before arriving at Auckland Zoo in 1990 at 8 years old.

In 2020, Auckland Zoo announced its decision to end its elephant programme and move its two remaining elephants — Burma and Anjalee — to new homes with social, multi-elephant herds. Anjalee moved to Australia in 2022, leaving Burma alone here in limbo.

Asian elephants are extremely sociable and typically form groups of six or seven related females that are led by the oldest female, the matriarch, according to World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Burma will move to Australia this year. Photo / Alex Burton

A new home for Burma is being prepared at Monarto Safari Park in South Australia for her move in October or November.

“They are building a beautiful home for Burma. She’s going to meet a bunch of other elephants, two from Perth Zoo and another two from Taronga Zoo in Sydney,” Coers said.

Because Asian elephants are endangered, there are extra permits and quarantine processes to follow when she moves. It takes several agencies about 12 months to prepare. “There’s a lot of work moving any animal and I guess elephants are next level,” said Coers.

The keepers have been busy teaching Burma how to walk in and out of her specially built transport crate — a task they say she now excels at because it’s been in her enclosure for two years of familiarisation. “She’ll go in there most days, we’ll give her something nice to eat, play some games in there.”

Auckland Zoo senior elephant keeper Corryn Coers with the zoo's last remaining Asian elephant, Burma. Photo / Alex Burton

“Burma’s at the size where we’ve only got centimetres to play with to get her inside an aircraft.”

The team is relieved she can fit in the plane — just — because it means she’ll spend only 16 hours inside the crate.

“Soon we’ll start coming in at 10 o’clock or 4 in the morning to go through that crate process and really prepare her. We’re confident, as much as we can be when anything can happen.”

Burma’s move won’t be the end of her relationship with her Auckland Zoo keeper team. They, too, are going to Australia — to help her settle in.

“Auckland Zoo has been fantastic — they understand the effort and the energy, the rapport that our keepers have with Burma and the impact that we have on her daily life. A move for an elephant at her age is a big deal, so we want to do everything we can to help her settle.”

Up to four keepers will go and the team will stay with Burma as long as she needs their familiar faces, Coers said, probably four to six months.

There’s also going to be a period between Burma’s arrival and the arrival of her new companion elephants — during that time her Auckland keepers will remain her nearest and dearest.

Coers’ wife, Corryn, also works in the elephant team at Auckland Zoo, so they and their two teenage children will all jet off together with Burma.

It’s not the Coers family’s first elephant move: several years ago they all quarantined with elephant Anjalee in Niue.

The Auckland Zoo team going to Australia will stay with Burma as long as she needs their familiar faces. Photo / Alex Burton

Coers said he plays a comforting role for Burma, and it’s the emotional intelligence of elephants that makes him love working with them.

“Whenever she’s a bit worried about something ... I can tend to be able to settle her down.

“Their intelligence, their ability to manipulate is what keeps it interesting and just blows your mind sometimes.

“Relationships with elephants are similar to relationships with people. If you don’t put the effort into your mates, then the calls don’t come as often.”

A new home for Burma is being prepared at Monarto Safari Park in South Australia for her move in October or November. Photo / Alex Burton

One of the hardest things for the Coers family is that New Zealand will soon not have elephants.

“They’ve had an incredible impact on our visitors and we hear it a lot, the comments about how much people are going to miss not having elephants at Auckland Zoo.”

The zoo is planning on expanding its Africa exhibit in replacement of the elephant enclosure, but Coers wouldn’t say what his future at the zoo would look like.

“It’s too far away at the moment, my focus is just moving Burma.”