Bronx Zoo may move last remaining elephant ‘Patty’ to Tennessee sanctuary: report

The Big Apple’s last remaining elephant may be trading the concrete jungle for a wildlife sanctuary in Tennessee, according to a report.

The Bronx Zoo is weighing whether to transfer Patty, a 57-year-old Asian elephant, to a new home just months after another elephant, Happy, was euthanized at the zoo following a stint in hospice care, Gothamist reported.

Officials with the Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the 265-acre zoo in the Bronx, visited The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee to assess whether it would be suitable for Patty, the outlet said.

The elephant care team members toured the 3,000-acre property in Hohenwald, which currently houses 12 elephants, to see the facilities and meet with staff.

“We want to make sure that we feel that it would be the right move for her, and the risks would be outweighed by the potential gains,” Bronx Zoo Director Craig Piper told the outlet in an interview.

“We want to make sure that we do the best thing for Patty,” Piper said.

Patty’s trunked pal Happy, a 55-year-old Asian elephant, was put to sleep at the Bronx Zoo in May after a rapid health decline, officials previously said.

The beloved fixture at the zoo — who was known for stashing watermelon and strawberries inside her ear to save for later — showed signs of a falloff in kidney and liver function leading up to her death.

Happy was also the center of a 2018 lawsuit by animal activists who tried to have her declared a “person” over her storied intelligence.

The lawsuit by the Nonhuman Rights Project, which claimed Happy was not being properly cared for nor had adequate space at the Bronx Zoo, was shot down by New York’s top court — but the activists continued to rally against Happy’s conditions in the final years of her life.

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums typically requires zoos to keep a minimum of three female elephants, though a zoo with only one can apply for a variance, the outlet reported.

Many zoos, including the Los Angeles Zoo and the Oakland Zoo, have shuttered their elephant exhibits in recent years.

The Nonhuman Rights Project is urging the Bronx Zoo to let Patty flee the city to the Tennessee sanctuary.

“ The Nonhuman Rights Project is calling on the Bronx Zoo to send Patty to a sanctuary,” Executive Director Christopher Berry told the outlet.

Zoo officials, however, said they are not weighing outside opinions in the choice to transfer Patty.

There are still some risks with transporting Patty across state lines and separating her from her care staff, as well as concerns with her bonding with new elephant pals, Piper said.

“So it’s still under consideration, but we’re going to be very thoughtful, consider all the possibilities,” he said. “If we were to decide to make a move for her, there’d be a long effort, and a well-thought-out plan to implement.”

The Bronx Zoo did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.