‘They’re making choices for themselves’: A jumbo shift for Melbourne Zoo’s elephants

Three baby elephant calves are due for delivery at Melbourne Zoo in November, December and January, and speaking with veteran zookeeper Lucy Truelson, it sounds as though their arrival is well timed.

Veteran keeper Lucy Truelson has played a key role in Melbourne Zoo’s drive to give its elephants greater autonomy.Credit: Meredith O’Shea

Not only are those elephants due for transfer to an expansive new habitat in Werribee in 2024, but the zoo itself has adopted a new elephant-led approach to their care, in which the animals have greater autonomy – including everything from choosing when to offer up their ear for a blood test to when (and whether) they might enter a crate for transportation.

“The key for us as zookeepers is delving into ‘How do these animals live in the wild?’ Let’s learn about that, and then ask, ‘How do we replicate that in their everyday care?’” Truelson says. “The elephants are making choices for themselves each day. We’re not entering their space, they’re coming to us. It’s a really different philosophy and management style, which I think’s just brilliant.”

Truelson was speaking on the latest episode of Good Weekend Talks – a “magazine for your ears” featuring conversations between the best journalists from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, and the people captivating Australia right now.

Luk Chai, a male bull elephant, has impregnated three females at the Melbourne Zoo.Credit: Meredith O’Shea

Hosting the chat was the author of our featured story from the magazine this week – Baby Giants – by Good Weekend senior writer Melissa Fyfe.

Truelson has spent 24 years learning more about these graceful animals every day, from their unique family structures, to their social interactions and infrasonic communication, to breeding in captivity. And the zoo has come a long way in that time, too, considering the tiny (and now heritage-listed) enclosure in which the elephants used to be kept.

“The changes that we’ve made have been extraordinary. We want to do something no one’s done before with elephants – we want to break new ground and really lean into that natural biology, and see what we can do that creates the most choice and control for them.”

Good Weekend Talks offers readers the chance to dive deep into the definitive stories of the day, exploring the events and individuals capturing the interest of Australians, through weekly conversations with an array of special guests. Listen to more episodes by subscribing to Good Weekend Talks wherever you get your podcasts.

To read more from Good Weekend magazine, visit our page at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times.