孫立人將軍率領的新一軍，在反攻緬甸的南坎戰役中，擄獲日軍所屬由13頭大象組成的運輸象隊，其中一隻就是原名為「阿美」的林旺。The New First Army under General Sun Li-jen captured a Japanese elephant transport team consisting of 13 elephants during the Battle of Nankan in the Burma campaign. Among the elephants captured, one of them was Lin Wang, whose original name was Amei.對日抗戰勝利，包括林旺在內的7隻象被送到廣州後，其中4隻送往各地的動物園，林旺和其他兩隻大象則留在廣州中央公園供民眾觀賞。Victory in the Second Sino-Japanese War. After 7 of the captured elephants – including Lin Wang – were shipped to Guangzhou, 4 of them were relocated to zoos elsewhere, while Lin Wang and 2 other elephants remained at Guangzhou Central Park for public viewing.被送到廣州的象中有一隻死亡，孫立人派人將林旺與另一頭年輕象「阿沛」，搭著「海基號」經海路運送到高雄鳳山的陸軍訓練部。One of the elephants shipped to Guangzhou died. Sun Li-jen assigned his men to bring Lin Wang and another young male elephant named Apei onboard the ship Haijihao to the Army Training Command in Fongshan, Kaohsiung.與林旺同時到鳳山的阿沛病逝，只剩林旺這頭大象。Apei, the male elephant who arrived in Fongshan at the same time as Lin Wang, succumbed to its illness. Only the elephant Lin Wang remained among the captured elephants.由臺北市長吳三連先生牽紅線，將林旺與圓山動物園的母象「馬蘭」配對。同年10月30日，林旺從鳳山遷入圓山動物園。（臺北市立動物園當時位址於臺北圓山）With Taipei Mayor Wu San-lien taking on the role of the matchmaker, Lin Wang was officially pronounced the spouse of Yuanshan Zoo’s female elephant Malan. Lin Wang was relocated from Fongshan to Yuanshan Zoo on October 30 of the same year (At that time, Taipei Zoo was located at Yuanshan).保育員在林旺的糞便中發現血絲，經診斷為直腸長瘤，由於情況越來越嚴重，決定為林旺動手術，不過當時醫療技術很落後，只好把林旺五花大綁，再把手術工具直接插入患部電療及上藥，林旺經過此事以後，對保育員及獸醫的態度轉變，不如以往溫馴順從。