The elephants at London Zoo are to be permanently moved to Whipsnade Wild Animal Park, ending a tradition of keeping elephants in London, which dates back to 1831.

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) said that the three female Asian elephants are being moved to its bigger rural site at Whipsnade in Bedfordshire as part of a long-standing plan to increase the success of their breeding programme.

Construction of new facilities and extension of Whipsnade's current enclosure, which already houses four elephants, started at the beginning of the year, but the integration of the London elephants into a new herd will be a lengthy process.

The announcement comes ten days after the death of a Regent's Park keeper, who was trampled by one of the elephants at the zoo.

'Even though the move cannot take place immediately, we feel it right to make this announcement now because of the high level of interest following the tragic death of our colleague, Jim Robson,' said ZSL director general, Michael Dixon. 'We will be sorry to see the elephants go, but they will be able to benefit from the larger group, with a breeding bull and two pregnant companions to socialise with.'