But in February, an Australian tribunal approved the importation of the eight elephants on condition that the host zoos meet a list of conditions, paving the way for the animals' journey to Australia.
The conditions included providing appropriate flooring and installing closed-circuit television.
The eight elephants, which worked in logging camps, have been held in quarantine in Thailand for nearly two years. They were about three years old and mostly female.
Fewer than 50,000 Asian elephants remain in the wild and habitat loss and poaching threaten the existence of the species, particularly in Southeast Asia.
Name: Asian Elephant (
Elephas maximus)
Primary Classification: Proboscidea (Elephants)
Location: India and Southeast Asia.
Habitat: Mainly tropical scrub forest. Also thick jungle and savannah.
Diet: Mainly grasses. Also bark, roots, leaves, fruits, vines, shrubs and tree stems.
Size: Up to 21 ft in length, 10 ft in height and 5.5 tons in weight.
Description: Grayish to brown in color; sparse, coarse body hair; thick, dry skin; long trunk with single, finger-like projection; two bumps on forehead; columnar legs; large, fan-like ears; males have two long, ivory tusks.
Cool Facts: An adult consumes more than 500 lbs of vegetation in a single day. Its trunk, which contains up to 100,000 muscles, can inhale and spray water, lift heavy objects, grasp small objects and detect minor variations in heat and texture.
Conservation Status: Endangered
Major Threats: Habitat loss and poaching.
What Can I Do?: Visit the
Elephant Help Project and
Friends of the Asian Elephant for information on how you can help.
