Operation Maggie Migration flies elephant to California

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ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska (AFPN) --  The Air Force is flying Maggie, a 25-year-old African elephant, from the Alaska Zoo to her new home in California on a C-17 Globemaster III.

Maggie will start her Air Force journey at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska and finish it at Travis AFB, Calif., on Nov. 1. 

Officials with the Alaska Zoo and the Performing Animal Welfare Society, or PAWS, -- the California sanctuary -- contacted the Air Force because no commercial options existed to safely move the elephant. The PAWS organization is reimbursing the Air Force for all costs to move Maggie which is estimated between $215,000 and $300,000.

The entire trip is expected to take approximately 12 hours from the time Maggie leaves the Alaska Zoo to her arrival at the PAWS sanctuary.  Veterinarians from the zoo and PAWS will be flying with her as well, and zoo keepers will stay at the sanctuary for a few days to help Maggie adjust to her new surroundings. 

"In addition to providing flexible airlift capability for the Department of Defense, the Air Force can provide selective assistance when commercial options aren't available," said Lt. Gen. Douglas Fraser, the 11th Air Force commander. "We look forward to flying Maggie to her new home in California on an Alaskan-based C-17."

Maggie arrived at the Alaska Zoo in 1983 when she was just a year old. The zoo's board of directors voted to re-locate Maggie to PAWS last month. It was in the best interest to her health and well-being to be with other elephants in a milder climate. Elephants can live up to 70 years. 

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