Tonka the elephant starts crate training [Video]

The zoo and a local welder are working to make Tonka’s transition to the Elephant Sanctuary as smooth as possible

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tonka is Zoo Knoxville’s remaining bull African Elephant and is the largest of his herd and in North America. Now, he is preparing to leave Zoo Knoxville in the coming months.

This poses some challenges in the zoo moving him to Hohenwald, home to a community of aging elephants in an Elephant Sanctuary.

For the other two elephants, Jana and Edie, Zoo Knoxville rented crates from other zoos. Tonka, at a whopping 16,000 pounds, needed a crate of his own.

That’s where Drew Petty, owner of Petty’s Welding comes in.

“There’s not a box this size in the Western Hemisphere to move him in that is easy enough to get to Knoxville,” Petty said.

Petty said it was an exciting project, especially since he grew up seeing Tonka at the zoo. But it’s also something his team …