Gary Johnson is the owner of
Have Trunk Will Travel, a California-based
Asian elephant breeding facility. With 30 years of experience, Johnson and his wife Kari are the most successful private owners of Asian elephants in North America and can take credit for most of the
Asian elephant work currently seen in North American television and movies. Mr. Johnson is well respected for his involvement in California animal welfare issues and has served on the AZA
Elephant Task Force. Johnson's herd of
Asian elephants increased by two in 1998 with the birth of a male and female
elephant fathered by a bull in Canada, demonstrating the success of transporting females for natural breeding. Another baby
elephant was sired by Tusko, the Johnson's bull, in 2005. One female owned by Gary and Kari is currently pregnant through artificial insemination.