The giant C-17 transport plane rolled down the Elmendorf runway at 7:34 tonight and lifted Maggie into the sky, taking Alaska's only elephant south to California and a new life in a sanctuary with sunshine all year and lots of other elephants.
The flight to Travis Air Force Base should take about five hours, followed by a truck trip of about 85 miles to the PAWS elephant sanctuary.
Weeks of training Maggie to tolerate her special packing crate cage paid off. Zoo and Air Force officials said the move by truck across the city Thursday afternoon went off without a hitch. Maggie was moved by crane from the first truck to a conveyor-belt truck for final loading onto the plane. The later-than-expected take-off was because loading Maggie just took longer than anticipated, officials said. There were no noticeable problems with Maggie herself, said Capt. Kelley Jeter, Air Force spokeswoman.
As Maggie was lifted into the plane, she trumpeted twice, "almost like to say goodbye," Jeter said.
Trainers, a behaviorist and at least one veterinarian are traveling to California with her, where PAWS officials and a contingent of reporters will gather to welcome her.
See tomorrow's paper for the full story.
mholland@adn.com
