Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs On the back of a truck and flanked by a police escort, the first male elephant born in Australia has had a dramatic journey to its new home.Fifteen-year-old Luk Chai is the first of nine Asian elephants to be relocated from Melbourne Zoo in the city’s inner north to Werribee Open Range Zoo in the south-west, about 40 kilometres away.Luk Chai made the journey to Werribee in a custom-built, air-conditioned crate on Thursday.Credit: Zoos VictoriaThe mammoth effort to relocate the elephant on Thursday was over within an hour – but not without the help of hundreds of people in a logistics team including 21 elephant zookeepers, crane and truck logistics experts, dozens of veterinarians, the Department of Transport and Victoria Police.Luk Chai – the first male elephant born in Australia at Sydney’s Toronga Zoo in 2009 – weighs in at a hefty 4280 kilograms. Years of training by zookeepers and five years of planning meant the elephant voluntarily walked into a custom-built air-conditioned crate ahead of its journey to Werribee in the early hours of Thursday.For a few moments, the elephant was airborne as the huge crate was craned onto the back of a flat-bed truck, before police vehicles escorted the concealed Luk Chai down a freeway.The move was five years in the making, and Melbourne Zoo says it is the most ambitious in its history.Credit: Zoos VictoriaThe crate was opaque black with an “oversize” sign attached to its trailer, and zookeepers were able to monitor the elephant remotely through cameras until it arrived safely at Werribee.It did not take long before Luk Chai wandered out of the crate and began exploring a bull barn at the zoo, where a 21-hectare and $88 million habitat awaits the rest of its elephant herd.The remaining eight elephants at Melbourne Zoo are expected to join Luk Chai at Werribee in the coming days. Exactly when, zookeepers do not know – it is up to the elephants to move voluntarily into their crates, and factors like the weather and health can affect how soon they move.
