Secrecy shrouds San Diego elephants’ move

Ranchipur, the bull, is ready. Cookie and Mary are getting there.

Cha Cha, well, she’s always been the idiosyncratic one, the youngest and a bit flighty.

Soon, Ranchipur and the three females -- Asian elephants all -- will transfer from the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park to the zoo itself. The exact day and time of the move is a closely held secret.

The four will be stars in the zoo’s largest and most expensive exhibit: the $45-million Harry and Grace Steele Elephant Odyssey, 7 1/2 acres with 30 species, including jaguars and California condors.

Four years in the planning, the exhibit will have its grand opening May 23.

But before Ranchipur and his harem can wow visitors, they have to be driven along the winding roads that connect the Wild Animal Park to Interstate 15, and 25 miles to the zoo.

Zoo officials aren’t taking any chances the elephants could get spooked by photographers, elephant-philes or protesters who oppose keeping elephants in captivity. The public will be notified only after the move is complete.

Planning for it began more than a year ago, under the guidance of Jeff Andrews, the elephant program manager.

The first chore has been to persuade the elephants to step into massive steel crates.

How was that done?

“Slowly, very slowly, and over time,” Andrews said on a predawn morning earlier this week as the elephants were going through one of their last rehearsals.

The crate for Ranchipur is 20 feet long, 11 feet high and 7 feet wide and weighs 17,500 pounds. Ranchipur, who is 43 and weighs 12,500 pounds, is known for his placid temperament, although he does like to vigorously mount Cha Cha and Mary. (He and Cookie are not close.)

Trainers always have iron bars between them and the animals. No more whacking the elephants into obedience. Food treats reward good behavior.

In the early months, the animals walked close to the crates but would not go in. Later they would enter a step or two before backing out. Now they walk inside.

“Morning, Ranchi,” trainer William Twardy said at the beginning of the drill. The bull moved closer to the iron fence.

“Ranchi, foot,” said Twardy.

Ranchipur stuck out his foot. He was given apple slices and a hunk of yam.

On move day, a crane will lift each cage onto a tractor-trailer.

The convoy on I-15 will include tractor-trailers with the crates, cars with keepers and veterinarians, a supply truck, Highway Patrol escort vehicles and tractor-trailers carrying the cranes’ counterweights.

Once at the zoo, cranes will lift each crate into the new exhibit. Cranes will then move the zoo’s three resident elephants -- two Asians and one African -- into the exhibit.

Twardy has worked with Ranchipur for 13 years.

He’s confident his charge will take the move easily. “He’ll chill out,” Twardy said.

--

tony.perry@latimes.com