When Animals Attack: Elephants

Incidents in 2003-2000 Incidents in 1999-1996 Incidents in 1995-1990

The following is a partial listing of rampages by captive elephants since 1990. These incidents have resulted in 65 human deaths and more than 130 human injuries. Contact PETA for documentation.

1995:

December 7, 1995/Cairo, Egypt: An elephant being used to give rides at the Cairo Zoo killed her keeper by picking him up, throwing him to the ground, and stomping on him. Veterinarians said the elephant had recently seemed severely depressed.

November 1, 1995/Rome, Italy: A trainer was killed by an elephant with the Togni Circus.

July 10, 1995/Queens, N.Y.: Two elephants with the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus went on a rampage, triggering a panic among hundreds of spectators that left 12 people injured. Six spectators were hospitalized after the elephants bolted from the circus tent and crashed into a parked car before being brought under control by a trainer.

May 19, 1995/Hanover, Pa.: Two elephants with the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus rampaged at the North Hanover Mall, smashing store windows, damaging cars, and escaping into the woods. One of the elephants, Frieda, had killed Joan Scovell, 47, of New London, Conn., in 1985 by grabbing the woman with her trunk and throwing her down to the ground in a parking lot of the New London Mall.

May 1995/Zurich, Switzerland: An 11-year-old female elephant in the Zurich zoo seriously injured her keeper and was later destroyed.

April 2, 1995/Brussels, Belgium: Two elephants trampled their keeper to death at a wildlife park. The male and female pair broke out of their pens because they were upset at being separated from each other.

March 16, 1995/Bangkok, Thailand: An elephant in a circus trampled two men to death before being shot and killed by police. The elephant was killed when chloroform bullets failed to stop him from charging the crowd.

February 1995/Fort Wayne, Ind.: An employee of Tarzan Zerbini Circus was stepped on by an elephant while loading the elephants into a trailer. The employee suffered a crushed pelvis and was in critical condition.

1994:

October 10, 1994/Riley County, Kan.: A 3-year-old girl was feeding grass to a 15-month-old elephant at the King Royal Circus when the elephant wrapped his trunk around her neck and attempted to pull her into the arena. The girl was treated for injuries at a local hospital.

August 20, 1994/Honolulu, Hawaii: Tyke, an elephant with Circus International, killed her trainer and stomped and injured a circus groom and a dozen spectators. Tyke had run amok just before her performance, breaking out of the arena and leading police on a chase down several city blocks until they shot her to death with almost 100 bullets. This was the second elephant incident at the circus in as many weeks. Multiple lawsuits were filed.

August 15, 1994/Honolulu, Hawaii: Elaine, an elephant with Circus International, pinned Sean Floyd, his wife, and their eight children under a fence that separated the first row of spectators from the circus rings. Floyd and his 15-year-old daughter, Rachel, suffered injuries. Suits were filed against John Cuneo and the Hawthorn Corporation, owners of the elephant, and also against Roy Yempuku, the circus promoter.

July 23, 1994/Nyborg, Denmark: An elephant at Circus Benneweis attacked her trainer and trampled members of the audience before running amok through the town’s harbor. Two people were injured. The elephant later returned on her own to join her three companions and was destroyed.

July 18, 1994/New York, N.Y.: An elephant with the Moscow Circus attacked a Russian translator backstage at ABC’s Live With Regis and Kathie Lee television show. The elephant repeatedly smashed her head into the woman, pinning her to a wall and leaving her with a skull fracture, broken ribs, and a punctured lung. Lawsuits were filed against the circus, the show, and ABC for $5 million.

July 1, 1994/Louisville, Ky.: A man visiting the Louisville Zoological Gardens was picked up and dropped several times by an elephant. As a result of the man’s injuries, his spleen and part of his pancreas were removed. The elephant had just finished giving rides to zoo visitors and was being led away when she wandered away and picked up the man. Zoo officials believe the elephant, normally considered calm and docile, was just "horsing around."

April 6, 1994/Salt Lake City, Utah: While giving rides to two children, an elephant picked up, tossed, and stepped on an animal trainer with the Jordan Circus, breaking his arm and ribs and causing internal organ damage. Another trainer was also injured in the incident.

April 1994/Muskegon, Mich.: Three children were injured when an elephant giving rides at a Shrine-sponsored circus fell into the passenger loading platform, spilling the riders and bending the platform.

March 16, 1994/Java, Indonesia: An elephant giving rides to a family of three at the Surabaya Zoo tossed them off, trampled them, and ran wildly through the zoo, injuring seven others.

February 24, 1994/Chicago, Ill.: An elephant handler suffered broken ribs, a broken sternum, a collapsed lung, and a wound on her back when she slipped under an elephant she was trying to secure. The elephant had broken through some chains and ropes in the holding area at the Lincoln Park Zoo. The handler is seeking $1 million in damages against the zoo.

January 30, 1994/Cleveland, Ohio: An elephant at the Cleveland Zoo lunged at her keeper, gashing his head. Although zoo officials said the elephant had never before acted so aggressively, they believe she had a "temper tantrum" as a result of her confinement during a subzero cold spell.

1993:

October 1993/Toronto, Canada: An elephant keeper was gored by an elephant, causing serious injuries.

September 1993/Vallejo, Calif.: Radio personality Scott Stuart was posing for a publicity photograph when an elephant ran wildly across a public area and threw Stuart onto a cement path. The elephant was being used to give rides to children. Stuart sued the park for the injuries he suffered and was awarded $600,000 in an out-of-court settlement.

July 30, 1993/Tampa, Fla.: An elephant at the Lowry Park Zoo killed her keeper by pinning her to the ground and kicking her in the chest. Several weeks beforehand, the elephant had pushed the same keeper into a moat surrounding the elephant compound.

July 23, 1993/Minot, N.D.: Tyke, the elephant killed in the August 20, 1994, incident described above, escaped from her trainer while at the North Dakota State Fair and trampled an elephant show worker, breaking two of his ribs.

June 5, 1993/Fishkill, N.Y.: An elephant crushed a man to death by pinning him against a trailer in the elephant area of the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus grounds at the Fishkill Mall.

May 5, 1993/Williston, Fla.: A circus trainer died of internal injuries after an elephant knocked him down and stomped on his chest at a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus elephant farm.

April 21, 1993/Altoona, Pa.: A female elephant, Tyke, charged through an arena entryway during a Great American Circus performance. She ripped away part of the wall, causing $10,000 in damage. More than 3,000 children were in the audience. One young girl suffered injuries to her ankle. Her parents made a cash settlement with the Hawthorn Corporation. The elephant ran out onto an upstairs balcony and was later coaxed back by her trainers.

February 23, 1993/Pliego, Spain: An elephant handler was injured when an elephant leading a parade drove her tusk into the handler’s back.

1992:

December 16, 1992/San Antonio, Texas: An elephant killed his keeper by grabbing him and slamming him to the ground as he was leading a group of elephants into an enclosure at the San Antonio Zoo.

November 2, 1992/San Salvador, El Salvador: An elephant at the San Salvador National Zoo crushed her keeper to death as schoolchildren looked on. The elephant had spent her entire life at the zoo without a mate and was reportedly "frustrated and lonely." She killed two keepers in 15 years.

October 15, 1992/Bloomington, Minn.: A handler was hospitalized for a leg injury when an elephant grabbed him with her mouth while giving rides to several children at the Shrine Circus. One child suffered a minor leg injury.

August 31, 1992/Indianapolis, Ind.: A 3-year-old girl sustained permanent facial scarring after falling off an elephant during a ride. Three others riding with the girl also fell to the ground.

July 15, 1992/Lafayette, Ind.: Nine people were injured when they could not get out of the way as elephants in the Tarzan Zerbini International Circus collided and toppled a barricade at a shopping center.

April 24, 1992/Delhi, India: An elephant killed a man after the man had been tormenting the elephant with needles.

February 1, 1992/Palm Bay, Fla.: An elephant with the Great American Circus went on a rampage while carrying children on her back. She injured 12 people and threw a police officer to the ground before being shot and killed by police.

1992/Moscow, Russia: A keeper at the Moscow Zoo was killed by an elephant.

1991:

December 1991/Houston, Texas: An elephant attacked her trainer and broke his collarbone and four ribs.

September 3, 1991/Tarragona, Spain: An elephant gored a circus worker to death.

August 1991/Leicestershire, England: An elephant at the Twycross Zoo killed her keeper as he was examining her injured foot. She butted him with her head, breaking his neck against the cage bars.

July 10, 1991/Tokyo, Japan: An elephant, apparently maddened by being confined to a cage in the municipal zoo, trampled her keeper to death.

April 1991/Bangkok, Thailand: An elephant was frightened by a camera flash and trampled a person to death.

March 15, 1991/San Diego, Calif.: A keeper was killed by an elephant at the San Diego Wild Animal Park.

January 13, 1991/Oakland, Calif.: An animal handler who was cleaning an elephant’s pen at the Oakland Zoo was kicked to death by the elephant.

1991/Portland, Ore.: Tamba, an elephant with Metro Washington Park Zoo, "accidentally" slammed a trainer against a wall. Seven months later, he knocked the same man down, fracturing his skull. He survived, but zookeepers decided to keep him away from Tamba.

1991/Windsor, Canada: A circus hand was killed by an elephant.

1990:

October 1990/Indianapolis, Ind.: A father and his 2-year-old son fell off an elephant during a ride. The man suffered a dislocated hip and a severe groin injury.

July 8, 1990/Reading, Pa.: During a Great American Circus show, an elephant attacked her trainer and went on a rampage, panicking the crowd and injuring one man.

June 21, 1990/Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.: An elephant named Carol with the Hanneford Family Circus kicked and sat on her handler after being startled by a passing car. The man was crushed to death.

April 10, 1990/Oakdale, Calif.: An elephant giving rides threw the passengers off. The elephant began spinning and bumping into cars before she was brought under control. One passenger fell and was dragged 40 feet before being freed.

March 19, 1990/Loxahatchee, Fla.: An elephant named JoJo injured a handler at Lion Country Safari when she lifted him with her trunk, spun him around over her head, threw him to the ground twice, and gored him. The handler had five crushed ribs and a damaged liver and required 23 pints of blood.

February 13, 1990/San Francisco, Calif.: An elephant keeper at the San Francisco Zoo suffered a fractured back when he was pushed into a moat by an elephant.

January 1990/Oakland, Calif.: An 18-year-old elephant crushed his handler to death at the Oakland Zoo.

1990/Japan: A keeper was killed by an elephant at the Cunna Safari Park.

Back to Top