After six months of efforts by local zoo officials and petitions by residents, Detroit's most popular elephants are headed to a sanctuary.

Under an agreement announced Friday by the Detroit Zoo, Columbus Zoo, San Antonio Zoo and the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, Wanda and Winky will be sent to the Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary about two hours east of San Francisco, in the foothills of California's Sierra Nevada Mountains.

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The deal vindicates the efforts by Detroit Zoo Director Ron Kagan to find more room and a milder climate for the 46-year-old Wanda and 51-year-old Winky.

"I'm really thrilled. I'm obviously very appreciative," said Kagan.

Kagan's voluntary decision to give up the elephants primarily on ethical grounds drew praise from the public and animal welfare groups.

"We've known for some time it's not possible to give them a really good quality of life," Kagan said.

However, the AZA -- the Detroit Zoo's accrediting organization -- decided Wanda and Winky should go to the Columbus Zoo. Kagan opposed that recommendation, saying the conditions and weather at the zoo in central Ohio would be scarcely different from Detroit's.

"It seemed so unfair for them not to be able to go to the sanctuary," said 10-year-old Emma Stevens, of Royal Oak, who started a Web site for the precious pachyderms.

Complicating the dispute was the fact that Wanda was on long-term loan to Detroit from the San Antonio Zoo, which supported the AZA's recommendation. Kagan said he did not want to separate the elephants, who have spent the past 10 years in Detroit.

Defying the AZA's order could have resulted in possible sanctions for the Detroit Zoo, including loss of its accreditation, something Kagan had said he might be willing to risk. Keeping Wanda also could have exposed the Detroit Zoo to criminal repercussions.

A break in the impasse came when a test indicated that Wanda may have been exposed to endotheliotropic herpes virus, which would not be detrimental to her health but could be fatal to young elephants exposed to it.

Because other accredited zoos with breeding herds might have similar concerns, the zoos and the AZA re-evaluated the case and decided both Winky and Wanda could be transferred to the PAWS sanctuary in San Andreas, Calif. Of its 2,300 acres, about 100 are set aside for elephants.

Kagan said Winky and Wanda will likely spend this winter at the Detroit Zoo and will be moved in the warmer months.