Mila, the African elephant from a zoo in New Zealand, will be available for guest viewing at the San Diego Zoo as she becomes acquainted with her new home and its other residents.

The 41-year-old elephant arrived in San Diego on Nov. 14, through collaboration with the Franklin Zoo Charitable Trust.  She has been in quarantine at the Zoo’s Prebys Elephant Care Center until recently.

“Mila has been doing very well at the Center,”  said Scott  Morford, senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.  “Now that quarantine is over we are letting her explore her new surroundings at her own pace.”

Mila had been living at the Franklin Zoo since 2009, where she has been cared for and trained under a system of positive reinforcement. San Diego Zoo Global was a pioneer in the development of this training system for managing elephants.

The diminutive African elephant will be allowed to explore this new area on her own and will continue to work with her keepers as she gets used to the sights and sounds of the Zoo’s other elephants.

Bringing species back from the brink of extinction is the goal of San Diego Zoo Global. As a leader in conservation, the work of San Diego Zoo Global includes onsite wildlife conservation efforts (representing both plants and animals) at the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, as well as international field programs on six continents.

The important conservation and science work of these entities is made possible by the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Conservancy and is supported in part by the Foundation of the Zoological Society of San Diego.