Four elephants embroiled in a power struggle at Emmen zoo have been found a new home in Osnabrück, Germany, the zoo said on Thursday.

The power struggle within the herd had grown so out of hand the zoo decided to give away the four for free.

‘We are relieved we have been able to solve the problem for both families,’ Wijbren Landman told news agency ANP.

The power struggle erupted following the death of the herd’s matriarch Htoo Khin Aye in June 2012 when she collapsed and died, squashing her three-week old calf in the process. Since then, two rival strands of the family have been fighting it out for control.

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Free to a good home, four elephants