At Monarto Safari Park, the dedicated elephant team are beginning to see encouraging signs as Asian Elephants Burma and Pak Boon slowly strengthen their relationship behind the scenes.

While the pair continue getting to know one another, their journey has required extra patience and careful planning due to pre-existing health conditions both elephants arrived with before joining the park.

Elephant Manager Andrew Coers said the team has been working closely with the pair to ensure every interaction is positive, safe and led by the elephants themselves.

“We’re really starting to see Burma and Pak Boon’s relationship grow,” he said.

“We’ve been working pretty hard at trying to bring them together, but there are some complexities we’ve needed to carefully work through with both girls.”

Supporting Burma’s health needs

Burma was previously diagnosed with potential asthma, which can at times affect her breathing and energy levels.

“It’s not unusual for us to see Burma open-mouth breathing,” Andrew explained.

“That can create some additional challenges when introducing elephants because we need to be really confident she can comfortably handle the physicality that can sometimes come with social interactions.”

The elephant team carefully monitors Burma’s wellbeing during every stage of the introduction process to ensure she remains comfortable and confident.

Pak Boon’s adjustment to vision loss

Pak Boon has also faced significant change since arriving at Monarto Safari Park after experiencing a ruptured cornea prior to her move. While surgery to stabilise the eye was successful, she has permanently lost vision in one eye.

Andrew said adapting to partial blindness in a completely new environment, while also navigating unfamiliar elephant relationships, has been a major adjustment for her.

“That loss of vision can influence how Pak Boon approaches other elephants,” he said.

“You can sometimes see her position her body differently when meeting another elephant, and occasionally that can appear more dominant than intended.

“There’s every chance another elephant could misread those cues, so we’ve been very mindful about allowing both girls the time and space they need to learn about each other.”

Giving elephants the space to choose

To support the introduction process, the elephant team has used specialised management techniques including dividing large habitats with soft fencing. This allows Burma and Pak Boon to safely share proximity while maintaining control over their own comfort and space.

“It’s really about giving them the opportunity to understand one another at their own pace,” Andrew said.

“They’re learning each other’s behavioural cues, personalities and boundaries over time.”

Elephant introductions are always carefully managed, with keepers balancing the natural risks that can come with introducing such intelligent and socially complex animals.

“There’s always risks with elephant introductions,” Andrew said.

“Our job is to minimise those risks as much as possible, while still allowing natural social behaviours to develop.”

Positive signs for the future

Encouragingly, the team is already observing positive behaviours between the pair, offering hope for the next stage of their relationship.

“We’re seeing some really good signs between Pak Boon and Burma,” he said.

“We’ll continue nurturing those behaviours and, ultimately, they’ll let us know when the time is right.

“When that happens, we’ll open up the space and allow them to spend more time together.”

For now, every calm interaction, shared moment and growing sign of trust marks another important step forward in Burma and Pak Boon’s journey together at Monarto Safari Park.