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(Credit: 漏 Los Angeles Zoo)
Los Angeles 鈥� April 22, 2025 鈥� The Los Angeles Zoo announced today that it will be relocating its two remaining Asian elephants to the newly expanded Elephant Experience and Preserve at the Tulsa Zoo. This decision was made with the care and wellbeing of Billy and Tina as the number one priority and will afford them the opportunity to live among other elephants.
The Los Angeles Zoo works tirelessly to assure that all its animals, including the elephants, receive the best care possible, and visitors have enjoyed watching the Zoo鈥檚 elephants for years. The decision to relocate the two elephants, a male, Billy (40), and a female, Tina (59), was made in consultation with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and its Elephant Species Survival Plan (SSP) and Taxon Advisory Group (TAG). The SSP advises on the management of the entire elephant population in North American Zoos as a single herd. The decision is driven by the L.A. Zoo鈥檚 unwavering commitment to the health and wellbeing of all the animals in its care. Following the move, the Zoo will pause its elephant program for the immediate future. The Zoo will continue to support Asian elephant conservation programs and the Elephants of Asia exhibit will be reimagined for other suitable species and programming.
The Zoo spent the past year carefully evaluating its elephant program and all available options following the loss of two elephants, Jewel (61) in 2023 and Shaunzi (53) in 2024. Both elephants were in declining health due to issues unrelated to the Zoo鈥檚 enclosure or care and were ultimately euthanized due to age-related health issues. For the Los Angeles Zoo to consider the continuation of its elephant program, it would be necessary to bring in additional elephants in order to meet the social and gender requirements outlined in the AZA Accreditation Standards. Creating a larger social herd at the L.A. Zoo is currently not a viable option due to the limited availability of Asian elephants within the AZA population. These decisions 鈥� to relocate the elephants and pause the program 鈥� have been under consideration for some time and are in no way related to recent announcements about the City budget.
The Tulsa Zoo has recently expanded their elephant program and facilities and is currently home to five Asian elephants. The new construction includes a complete reenvisioning of the now 17-acre elephant complex that includes a massive 36,650-sqft state-of-the-art elephant barn and incorporates a 10-plus acre wooded elephant preserve. Moving them to Tulsa, another AZA-accredited zoo with an excellent elephant program, will allow Billy and Tina to continue receiving exceptional care with opportunities to integrate with a larger herd.
There is still time to see Billy and Tina before they depart. A date for the move has not yet been determined.
About Billy
Billy is a 40-year-old male Asian elephant. He came to the Los Angeles Zoo as a four-year-old calf from peninsular Malaysia in 1989. At the time, the Government of Malaysia was capturing and relocating wild elephants that were causing extensive damage to palm oil and rubber plantations due to their habitat being severely fragmented by agricultural activities. Many of the elephants that were relocated were sent to other tracts of habitat, but because of space limitations in suitable habitat, many of the young elephants were sent to zoos in order to spare them from being culled along with herds of elephants that had been identified as problematic. Billy was one of the young animals that was rescued and he was sent to the Los Angeles Zoo to safely live his life. Billy鈥檚 story is one that exemplifies the need for conservation of nature, and places emphasis on the importance of human-wildlife coexistence. He has been an excellent ambassador for his species and has helped teach millions of zoo visitors about the threats that endangered wild Asian elephants face including poaching, habitat fragmentation and loss, and other human activities.
About Tina
Tina is a 59-year-old female Asian elephant owned by the San Diego Zoo. She came to the Los Angeles Zoo from San Diego in 2010 at approximately 44 years of age along with her companion, Jewel.
The two elephants spent thirty years together in private ownership before being confiscated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and transported to the San Diego Zoo for recovery and rehabilitation.
Tina lived with Jewel, Shaunzi, and Billy at the Elephants of Asia habitat at the Los Angeles Zoo where she was the dominant female of the herd. As an older elephant, she receives appropriate geriatric care that includes special attention to her feet and joints which can become issues as elephants age.
Like Billy, Tina is an excellent ambassador for her species. She has helped to shed light on the issues that endangered Asian elephants face in the wild and helped teach visitors about her species.
Billy and Tina are both loved by their many caretakers and generations of Angelenos.
About the Los Angeles Zoo
The Los Angeles Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and is dedicated to providing exemplary animal care and wellbeing. As a trusted leader in local and global conservation efforts, the Los Angeles Zoo is saving wildlife and connecting Angelenos to the natural world by delivering diverse learning opportunities and creating unforgettable experiences. The lush 133-acre campus and its passionate and dedicated team welcomes all to be inspired by the Zoo’s vision to create a just and sustainable world where people and wildlife thrive, together. The Zoo is located on Zoo Drive in Griffith Park at the junction of the Ventura (134) and Golden State (5) freeways. Admission is $22 for adults and $17 for children ages 2 to 12. For information, call (323) 644-4200 or visit the L.A. Zoo website at www.lazoo.org.
CONTACT: Carl Myers/(323) 644-4273
lazoo.press@lacity.org