Louie’s milestone journey started inch-by-inch.

Toledo Zoo staff, with the help of specialized movers, packed up the 14-year-old African elephant bull Thursday evening and started him on the road to the next phase of his life.

The first few feet toward his new home at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium were almost excruciatingly slow as his steel transport crate was carefully pulled away from the elephant barn and loaded on a lowboy semi-trailer.

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IN PICTURES: Louie heads to Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium

“I’m gonna miss him. I’ll miss him a lot,” said Shakira Downton, a neighbor and zoo catering employee who watched the more than three-hour process to start the move. “It’s sad to let him go, but I understand.”

The young bull is joining six others of his kind that were rescued from Swaziland last year. Louie was chosen as the best available mate for the five females in the Nebraskan group by his Species Survival Plan, a program of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums that manages breeding to ensure genetic diversity in accredited institutions.

Louie’s offspring will be the beginning of a new bloodline among captive African elephants in North America.

VIDEO: Louie leaves for Omaha

“He’s at an age where he needs to be with females he can breed,” Dr. Randi Meyerson, assistant director of animal programs, said. “In the wild, he wouldn’t still be with his herd. We will miss him, but we have to do what’s best for him.”

The pachyderm and his entourage should arrive in Omaha after a 700-mile overnight trip that zoo officials expected would last about 14 hours.

Born in April, 2003, Louie was the first successful elephant birth at the zoo. 

Residents have adored him since the now 6,000-pound elephant standing about 9 feet tall was a comparatively tiny 275-pound calf.

“Louie has been a local celebrity,” Jeff Sailer, executive director of the Toledo Zoo, said. “He’s been an amazing ambassador here for his species. But I’m also very happy to see him moving on in his own life cycle.”

Keepers had been getting Louie accustomed to his travel crate since it arrived June 7. 

He breezed through the training far faster than anticipated, which zoo officials attributed to the quality of care his keepers have provided and the strong relationships they forged with him.

Ben Whitebread, elephant manager at the Toledo Zoo, has worked with Louie for about 13 years. He is travelling to Omaha with Louie to help get him settled and teach his new keepers everything he can about the elephant.

“This is cliché, but it’s bittersweet,” Mr. Whitebread said. “I like where he’s going and what he’s going to be a part of.”

Mr. Whitebread’s counterpart from Omaha was in Toledo for a week working with Louie. Sarah Armstrong said Louie was responding to her, a positive sign he should adjust well to new keepers.

“He’s an incredible animal,” she said. “We’re really excited to have him joining our herd in Omaha. He seems to be a very laid back, easygoing elephant.”

She noted he trains well, and she is having to adjust her own training style to keep up. 

Louie was raised in captivity and has been training from a very young age, so he is familiar with a host of behavior commands used for husbandry purposes.

“He’s so smart. It’s been a bit of a learning curve for me to speed up,” Ms. Armstrong said. 

“I’m used to working slower because our animals are all still learning those behaviors.”

Louie’s comfort with the crate and cooler weather this week presented an early opportunity to send him to Omaha.

Dr. Meyerson said while the transfer comes sooner than expected — the zoo had previously said he could move as late as this fall — there was no reason to wait.

Getting him to Omaha as soon as possible will make getting him settled there easier.

“He’ll have to go through a quarantine period and get integrated with their herd,” she said. 

“It’s much easier to do that when the weather is nice and they have access to all the outdoor space.”

Louie trumpeted twice in the early stages of being loaded, once after a loud sound as the crate was secured and once in response to movement.

Keepers continually talked to and praised the elephant, feeding him chunks of carrot, melon, and banana through a small access hole to help keep him calm. 

Louie regularly stuck his trunk out the hole grasping for more treats before it was closed just prior to driving off.

Nine-year-old Ray Mara, who lives in the neighborhood, ran along the sidewalk following the truck as it pulled away from the zoo with a police escort. 

He loves the elephants and spends a lot of time at the zoo, and said he was sad to see Louie go but also happy “because there’s gonna be more African elephants.”

“I think it’s great for the species. It’s tremendous what the zoo is offering up here,” Mike Heldmann, the boy’s stepfather, said. 

“It’s good for the area; it’s good for the zoo. It brings publicity to Toledo and to the zoo. It’s something we’re proud of.”

The Toledo Zoo will retain ownership of Louie. A contract with the Henry Doorly Zoo stipulates Toledo will own every even-numbered female calf sired by Louie, while the Omaha facility will get ownership of odd-numbered females and all males.

Louie or some of his progeny could return to Toledo in the future.

Contact Alexandra Mester: amester@theblade.com, 419-724-6066, or on Twitter @AlexMesterBlade.

First Published June 23, 2017, 4:06 a.m.