Storm diverts Oklahoma-bound Seattle elephants to San Diego Zoo for a rest

SEATTLE – A Seattle zoo says the two aging female elephants it dispatched earlier this week on a 2,000-mile road trip to an Oklahoma zoo have been diverted by a storm — and are now resting at the San Diego Zoo.

The Woodland Park Zoo said the elephant caravan had to change course in Salt Lake City because of a storm in Colorado and Wyoming that was expected to grow worse. Because the reroute would have made their trip a day longer than expected, the zoo says “a decision was made for veterinary precautions to go to San Diego Zoo and allow the elephants to rest.”

Bamboo and Chai arrived Friday afternoon at the California zoo, which has an elephant herd of its own. They will be in quarantine while there.

When the elephants left Seattle on Wednesday evening en route to the Oklahoma City Zoo, officials estimated the trip would take 35 to 40 hours. They are being sent on a long-term loan.

Woodland Park says San Diego Zoo vets found the elephants to be tired and showing signs of muscle stiffness.