Elephants reunited at Blackpool Zoo

Blackpool Zoo’s herd of Asian elephants is now almost complete following the safe arrival of two females from Twycross Zoo. Noorjahan and her four-year-old calf, Esha have arrived at our new multi-million pound Project Elephant Base Camp at Blackpool Zoo following months of 'behind the scenes' work with specialists from Twycross Zoo and experts from the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP).

The move reunites the mother and daughter duo with the two other members of the herd, Tara and Minbu, who travelled from the Leicestershire zoo earlier this year.

The zoo's original Asian elephant, Kate moved into the development upon its completion at the end of 2017.

Our very own Adam Kenyon, Section Head of Elephants, said: “We’re delighted to welcome the final two girls from Twycross Zoo following months of logistical preparation.

“We’re slowly introducing Noorjahan and Esha to the rest of the herd who seem to be very interested in their arrival and they have already been excitingly calling out to one another.

“The final move from Twycross was another major step towards securing the future of these magnificent mammals and we’re over the moon that we’re able to do this here at Blackpool Zoo.”

Project Elephant Base Camp opened in March and is one of the UK’s largest indoor elephant facilities, opening up an additional three acres.

It has been specially designed around the complex welfare needs of the mammoth species and features a raised indoor viewing platform for visitors.

Externally, the public can enjoy unobstructed views of the elephants in their large paddock, which includes a sanded area complete with bathing pool and a landscaped grass field.

Work to identify a suitable bull elephant is on-going, with a view to this being a breeding herd in the near future.