Specially designed travel crates for Perth Zoo's elephants have been completed ahead of their move to South Australia. But while everything is in place for the animals to travel across the Nullarbor, it's still unclear when they'll actually leave WA.
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00:00This crate will hold some very large and very valuable cargo.
00:06It, and another almost identical crate, will carry Perth Zoo's two Asian elephants, Putramas and Pumai, to South Australia.
00:14We needed to make sure we designed a crate that was not only safe and comfortable for the elephants, but you know, welfare is paramount.
00:20These crates weigh 4,000 kilograms and are designed to hold a 4,000 kilogram elephant.
00:27Perth Company, CAD's fabrication won the tender to build them.
00:32A unique challenge compared to its usual business in mining.
00:36It's something a bit different, something left to field and they enjoy getting involved with it and it's sort of, everyone talks about it and all that sort of stuff.
00:43It's not just another job sort of thing.
00:46It was a task the company embraced.
00:48Obviously they're really tall. We've got to put them on a truck. We're getting pretty close to them being over height.
00:54There was also considerations on how we're going to strap them down, how we're going to load them, how we're going to lift them.
01:01Getting the pachyderms ready has been a long process.
01:04The crate training with the elephants so far has been relatively smooth.
01:09We've had a couple of moments of regression, so where they're comfortable and then suddenly something has spooked them and they lose that confidence, but it doesn't last long.
01:19The crates will be placed here in the elephant's enclosure at Perth Zoo, replacing this one which was borrowed from Taronga.
01:26The time frame for their departure remains unclear, as does their mode of transport.
01:31We're still working through the logistics. It's early. We're on the elephant's time frame as well.
01:35We're hoping by mid next year that we would have started the move, but that's still to be decided.
01:42One thing is certain, Putramas and Pumai are one step closer to moving to their forever home.
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