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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsPutra Mas’s arrival at Monarto Safari Park on 5 November 2025 marked the end of Perth Zoo’s elephant era. The zoo’s history stretches back to 1896, but elephants were not there for all 125 years: rides were part of the visitor experience until 1961, and the recent story centred on Tricia, Permai and Putra Mas.
125 years of zoo history, not 125 years of elephants
Perth Zoo dates its institutional history to 1896. Its own history records elephant rides as a visitor attraction until 1961, but that does not mean elephants lived at the zoo continuously from its founding. The long anniversary frame belongs to the institution; the elephants’ history is one part of it. Perth Zoo’s history also traces a change in purpose, from recreation and fascination toward conservation, education and inspiration.
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The elephants who shaped the modern chapter
Tricia arrived in 1963
Tricia came to Perth Zoo in January 1963 from Ho Chi Minh City via Singapore. In a 2020 release, the zoo described her as 63 and one of the oldest elephants in human care at that time. She died in 2022, aged 65, according to the zoo’s later retrospective. The zoo’s account of Tricia’s 60th birthday reflects the place she held in Perth’s public life.
Permai and Putra Mas arrived in 1992
Permai and Putra Mas had both been at Perth Zoo since 1992. Their future became a question after Tricia’s death: Perth Zoo had announced in 2018 that the pair would be rehomed to enable a suitable social herd structure, and Tricia’s death set that plan in motion. The zoo’s relocation announcement explains its stated reasoning.
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Why the elephants moved to Monarto
Perth Zoo says its small inner-city site cannot provide the space for a full elephant herd. It describes the relocations as a welfare decision intended to meet the elephants’ social needs. That is the zoo’s explanation for the move, rather than an independent welfare assessment. In its elephant FAQs, the zoo says females live in matriarchal groups, while bulls are typically solitary or live in bachelor settings.
Permai travelled to Monarto in January 2025. Perth Zoo’s August 2024 update described Monarto’s developing habitat, including four areas and waterholes, and plans for Permai to meet Burma, Tang Mo and Pak Boon. Those were plans at the time; the later move retrospective records the completed transition. Read the August 2024 update.
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- The amazing bond between a boy and elephant that lasted a lifetime.
- Spans dozens of true life adventures and escapades.
- Gut-wrenching love story.
Putra Mas left Perth on 3 November 2025 and reached Monarto on Wednesday 5 November after a 42.5-hour road trip, according to Perth Zoo. His arrival completed the herd as described by the zoo and left Perth Zoo without elephants in its care. In an August 12, 2025 release, Perth Zoo Director of Life Sciences John Lemon called the moment “a bittersweet time for us and the closing of a chapter,” while welcoming Putra Mas’s coming move. The zoo’s release also quotes Lemon describing the bull as “one of the most intelligent bulls I’ve worked with in my 30-year career”—his professional assessment, not a measured ranking.
Two separate links to conservation
Putra Mas’s contribution to a breeding program
In 2018, a female calf was born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo following artificial insemination using Putra Mas’s sperm. Perth Zoo presented the birth as the first successful representation of his genetics and a new bloodline for the Australasian breeding program. It is a specific program milestone, not a measure of the current elephant population. Perth Zoo’s account of the calf’s birth gives the details.
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Donations made in Tricia’s honour
Perth Zoo says more than $30,000 in community donations made in Tricia’s honour supported a ranger station hut in Sumatra to protect wild Asian elephants in Bukit Tigapuluh National Park. The zoo’s retrospective does not specify the fundraising year. The retrospective on Tricia describes the support.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What Putra Mas’s departure closes—and what it does not
Putra Mas’s move closes Perth Zoo’s chapter of caring for elephants on site; it does not erase the institution’s longer history or the distinct contributions of the elephants who lived there. The story runs from rides in an earlier era to named animals, planned social groups, breeding work and support for wild elephants. Perth Zoo’s account places those changes within a broader shift in what it seeks to do: not simply exhibit animals, but contribute to conservation, education and inspiration.
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