Booking choice: The Taronga Zoo entry ticket. Book this Details
Elephants were part of Taronga for more than a century. In April 2024 the zoo announced the end of that era, and in 2025 its last two Asian elephants, Tang Mo and Pak Boon, travelled to Monarto Safari Park in South Australia.
If you are visiting Taronga Zoo Sydney now, you will not see an elephant. You will see a rhino called Hari.
The quick answer
There are no elephants at Taronga Zoo Sydney. Tang Mo and Pak Boon moved to Monarto Safari Park near Adelaide in 2025, and Monarto reported their arrival on 1 May 2025. The old elephant habitat is now Rhino Reserve, home to a greater one-horned rhino and Asian water buffalo. Listings that mention elephants are out of date.
Are there still elephants at Taronga Zoo Sydney?
No. The last two left in 2025, and the zoo has no plans published to bring elephants back to Sydney.
Five Asian elephants arrived from Thailand in 2006, and in July 2009 the herd produced Luk Chai, the first elephant calf born in Australia. Over the following years the herd shrank as elephants moved to other zoos. By 2024 two females were left in Sydney.
Taronga announced the move in April 2024. A January 2025 update set the departure for late March 2025, and Monarto Safari Park reported on 1 May 2025 that both had arrived after a 22-hour, 1,300-kilometre road trip.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2006 | Five Asian elephants arrive from Thailand |
| July 2009 | Luk Chai born, Australia's first elephant calf |
| April 2024 | Taronga announces the elephants will move |
| Early 2025 | Tang Mo and Pak Boon leave Sydney |
| 1 May 2025 | Monarto reports their arrival |
| 4 July 2026 | Monarto's Elephants of Asia precinct opens to the public |
Why did Taronga move its elephants to Monarto?
Animal welfare, and the chance to build a new social herd with elephants from Auckland Zoo and Perth Zoo.
Elephants are social animals, and two ageing females make a small group. Taronga's statement framed the move around "best animal welfare practices" and "the rare opportunity presented to form a new social herd". Monarto offered space and company: Burma from Auckland Zoo, Permai from Perth Zoo, and later the Perth bull Putra Mas.
Pak Boon and Tang Mo were the last two of the four founding females to reach the park. Taronga's elephant program did not end. The same announcement said its sister zoo, Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo, would continue its Asian elephant breeding herd.
Taronga's day ticket covers Rhino Reserve, the African Savannah and every keeper talk.
Book thisWhere are Tang Mo, Pak Boon and Luk Chai now?
Tang Mo and Pak Boon live at Monarto Safari Park in South Australia. Luk Chai lives at Werribee Open Range Zoo in Victoria.
At Monarto the herd now shares the Elephants of Asia precinct, more than 12 hectares of connected habitats. Monarto's elephant page says it opened to the public on Saturday 4 July 2026, after a members' preview, and non-members need a date-specific ticket. Tang Mo and Permai have shared a habitat without barriers since February 2026, while the others went through slower introductions.
Luk Chai, the Taronga-born bull, has grown up and is now a father at Werribee Open Range Zoo near Melbourne, according to Taronga. To see elephants in New South Wales, the place is Dubbo, not Sydney.
| Where | State | Elephants |
|---|---|---|
| Monarto Safari Park | South Australia | Tang Mo, Pak Boon, Burma, Permai, Putra Mas |
| Werribee Open Range Zoo | Victoria | Luk Chai and his herd |
| Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo | New South Wales | Asian elephant breeding herd |
| Taronga Zoo Sydney | New South Wales | None |
What is in the old elephant area at Taronga now?
Rhino Reserve: a greater one-horned rhino called Hari and three Asian water buffalo, sharing a mixed habitat.
The zoo turned the former elephant site into a mixed-species habitat. Taronga's visit planning page names Hari, a greater one-horned rhino, and three water buffalo. According to Wikipedia, Hari has lived in Rhino Reserve since December 2025.
Time your walk for the rhino keeper talk at 10:40am, the first talk of the day on the official schedule. The zoo also sells a Rhino Encounter where you feel rhino skin, as a paid extra on the day. For big animals, the African Savannah next door has giraffes, lions and zebras with the harbour behind them.
Why do some tickets and listings still mention elephants?
Because listing text and old blog posts are slow to change. If a page promises elephants in Sydney, it is out of date.
At least one current ticket listing, the Captain Cook ferry and zoo combo, still lists Asian elephants in its description. The zoo's own news archive keeps older releases that mention elephants, and plenty of travel blogs from before 2025 do too. The ticket itself is fine. Only the description is stale.
Watch for the other mix-up: there are several "Sydney zoos". Our comparison explains how Taronga differs from Sydney Zoo in Western Sydney and WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo at Darling Harbour, and why a tour that says "Sydney Zoo" may not take you to Taronga.
Frequently asked questions
Does Taronga Zoo Sydney have elephants?
No. Its last two Asian elephants, Tang Mo and Pak Boon, moved to Monarto Safari Park in South Australia in 2025.
When did the elephants leave Taronga Zoo?
Taronga planned the move for late March 2025, and Monarto Safari Park reported on 1 May 2025 that both elephants had arrived.
Where can I see elephants near Sydney?
In New South Wales, Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo keeps Asian elephants. Taronga Zoo Sydney no longer does.
What replaced the elephants at Taronga?
Rhino Reserve, a mixed habitat with a greater one-horned rhino called Hari and three Asian water buffalo.
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Taronga Zoo Entry Ticket
- General admission for one day
- Keeper talks and daily presentations
- Seals for the Wild and Free Flight Birds shows
Zoo Entry & Return Ferry from Circular Quay
- Return Captain Cook ferry from Circular Quay
- General admission to Taronga Zoo
- Keeper talks and the daily shows
