Pachyderm show sent packing

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The elephant show at the Wild Animal Park, an attraction at Tembo Stadium since 1977, the most popular show in park history, closed this weekend.

The show’s stars -- Ranchipur, Sunita, Cookie, Mary and Cha-Cha -- are set to be transported down the freeway to the San Diego Zoo to join three elephants there in a new exhibit, Times staff writer Tony Perry reports.

The herd will share 2.5 acres, part of a $44-million project called Elephant Odyssey that will cover 7 acres and include tree sloths, jaguars, lions, birds, tapirs, camels, turtles, pronghorn sheep and life-size replicas of prehistoric beasts, Perry reports.

At their new habitat at the San Diego Zoo, there will be no elephant show. Why?

Says elephant trainer Brian Greco, pictured here with Ranchipur, the Wild Animal Park’s 42-year-old, 12,000-pound bull elephant, ‘A lot of us are not big on the idea of elephants performing in shows. We like to give our elephants every chance to just be elephants.’

-- Francisco Vara-Orta