Meet the Unwilling Performers

Black Diamond
On October 12, 1929, a majestic bull elephant named Black Diamond was among a procession of animals being marched from a rail yard to the circus grounds in Corsicana, Texas. A crowd had gathered to watch the parade. Along the way, the elephants stopped and lined up near a fire hydrant waiting their turn for a drink of water. A local woman wanting to pet the enormous Black Diamond approached him. In a matter of moments, the elephant knocked her to the ground and gored her to death, then whirled around, destroyed a parked car, and injured two trainers.

Days later, owner John Ringling ordered Black Diamond's execution. The killing method became a topic of debate. Some suggested that Black Diamond's feet be bound with tons of lead and that he be dragged by tugboat into the Gulf of Mexico and left to drown. Others thought that chains should be wrapped around his neck with the other ends shackled to his fellow elephants who would be forced to slowly strangle him to death. Still others recommended electrocution. Black Diamond's executioners ultimately decided on poison. If that failed, they would shoot him to death.

When the circus arrived in Kennedy, Texas, Black Diamond was led away to a forest clearing and chained between two trees. He refused to eat the poison-laced peanut shells and oranges. A volunteer firing squad of 20 men took aim and pumped some 170 bullets into Black Diamond. Black Diamond's bullet-ridden head was chopped off and mounted for display in Houston, Texas.

Tia
In I Loved Rogues, elephant trainers George Lewis and Byron Fish wrote, "All well-trained performing elephants are well-scarred elephants." Tia, an 8-year-old African elephant, was about to find out what those words meant.

A roadside attraction in Iowa wanted an elephant to give rides and entertain the public. In May 1991, Tia was purchased and sent to an elephant training facility in Wisconsin. Upon arrival, she was led inside a barn and shackled by four legs. Restrained and unable to flee, she was beaten viciously with baseball bats and ax handles. Her trainers, not satisfied with the stinging pain inflicted by standard electric prods, invented their own version of electrical shock training. They wrapped an electrical cord around an ax handle. Exposed wires at one end of the cord were fastened to two screws embedded in the handle. The other end was plugged into an electrical outlet. Each time the metal screws were pressed against her delicate skin, Tia was jolted with a 110-volt electrical current. Confused and terrified, she would suffer even more injuries every time she struggled to escape or attempted to defend herself. She remained there for four months.

When the chains were finally removed, she could hardly walk. Tia’s physical and psychological abuse left her dispirited and covered with cuts, open wounds, and scars. In December 1992, Tia was sent to another dilapidated amusement center in Virginia where elephants were left in the hot sun with no shade and water or chained inside a building with feces-smeared walls and urine-soaked floors. Far short of her 70-year life expectancy, she died there in January 1996.

Kenny
Kenny was born at Ringling’s "conservation" facility on August 19, 1994. Like all baby elephants born at Ringling, Kenny’s real mother was soon replaced with a surrogate—the bullhook-wielding trainer. At barely 2 years of age, Kenny, an endangered Asian elephant, was relegated to the status of a clumsy clown as he was shipped around the country in a rail-car and made to perform silly tricks.

On January 24, 1998, Kenny was clearly very sick when the circus was performing in Jacksonville, Florida. The trauma of being taken from his mother and the rigors of travel likely stressed his delicate immune system. Kenny was nevertheless forced to suffer through two last performances. He died later that evening, alone in his stall and without veterinary care.

Ringling often touts its elephant-breeding center by publicizing pregnancies and births, but circus officials did not announce Kenny’s death. His corpse was hauled away from the Coliseum in a rental truck. Ringling later paid $20,000 to settle USDA charges of failing to provide veterinary care to a dying baby elephant.

Jupiter
Jupiter was born in an Arkansas tiger mill and ended up with Florida animal trainers. The 400-pound tiger was hauled around to Shrine circuses where he was often walked on a leash near children. The U.S. Department of Agriculture ignored concerns that Jupiter’s close exposure to children was dangerous and violated the Animal Welfare Act.

As the 3-year-old tiger was being walked on a leash in October 1998, Jupiter attacked and killed his trainer. Six weeks later he attacked and killed his owner. A SWAT team was called and sharpshooters fired three bullets into Jupiter’s head and neck while he was locked in a fenced enclosure.

Gypsy
Gypsy was a northern sea lion who enjoyed sunning herself on rocks and swimming graceful underwater ballets in the open seas off South America. Her freedom abruptly ended one day when she was captured and forced to learn silly tricks on command. For the next ten years she would be stuck in tiny transport crates and hauled around the world to perform in hotels and circuses.

The last stop of her miserable journey would be Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus. In August 1998 Gypsy was found dead at age twelve in her transport container while the circus performed in Moline, Illinois. She survived barely half of her twenty-year life expectancy.

Sadie
Sadie was a young, timid elephant. Her trainers believed it was essential that elephants used in circuses learn fear of punishment and discomfort as basic discipline. They were impatient and she was confused by the strange, puzzling tricks that were unnatural to any elephant.

One day, Sadie attempted to run out of the ring. Her trainers brought her back and began to punish her for being "stupid." Overwhelmed with a sense of frustration, helplessness, and hopelessness, Sadie laid down and began to cry. Tears streamed down her face as her huge body heaved with every desperate sob. Her spirit broken, Sadie would never regain the freedom and dignity the circus had so cruelly taken from her.

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