Elephant Bala Leaves Liberec Zoo, Closing the Book on Seven Decades of Elephants

An elephant named Bala has left Liberec Zoo in Czechia and set off for the Wildwood Trust's Howletts sanctuary — no, more precisely, the British sanctuary Scanda Vale — bringing an end to the zoo's more than seventy-year history of keeping elephants. The news was announced by Liberec Zoo.

Preparations for the move took several months: keepers used positive reinforcement to gradually get Bala used to a training transport crate, so she would voluntarily walk in and spend increasing amounts of time inside it.

A long road to departure

"Bala is very sensitive and gets used to anything new only step by step, which is why our keepers spent months on daily training sessions. Thanks to that, today she walked into the transport crate quite calmly and without major difficulties," zoologist Libor Melichar said on 30 August, just before departure. He is accompanying the elephant on the journey along with colleagues.

The trip to England took roughly 30 hours. Once Bala arrives, her escorts will stay with her at Scanda Vale for a few more days to help her settle in and to pass on years of accumulated care experience to the local team.

A new home and new company

In England, Bala will have spacious grassy enclosures and regular walks through the surrounding woodland. But most importantly, she'll finally have company: another elephant, Valli, who — like Bala — currently lives without others of her own kind. Everything at Scanda Vale has already been prepared for Bala's arrival, and once she's had a few days to acclimatise, she'll gradually be introduced to her new surroundings.

Bala spent 13 years at Liberec Zoo. For most of that time she lived alongside another elephant, Rani, and the two formed a stable, harmonious pair. After Rani's death in 2021, Bala became the zoo's last remaining elephant.

When Bala arrived in Liberec in 2013, she suffered from chronic back pain and long-standing problems with one of her front legs. Thanks to patient, daily care from experienced keepers, along with regular exercise and rehabilitation, her health improved considerably over the years, and she left for her new home in good physical condition.

What happens to the elephant pavilion

The building that once housed the elephants will now undergo a thorough technical inspection. Depending on the results, the zoo will decide whether to demolish the pavilion or temporarily turn it into a visitor centre. In the future, the space is expected to house animals again — though not elephants.

"For thirteen years, Bala was an inseparable part of life at our zoo, and saying goodbye to her isn't easy. At the same time, we understand that her departure is the right step — one that gives her the chance to live alongside another elephant again, in conditions that match her current needs. Her move both symbolically closes an important chapter in our zoo's history and opens up space for further development. This site, tied to elephants for more than seventy years, we hope to dedicate to animals once again in the future, building a modern exhibition complex as part of the zoo's gradual transformation," said Liberec Zoo director David Nejedlo.

Source: novinky.cz