The tragic death of the elephant Tyke, which forever changed the attitude towards the circus

Today, calls to stop using animals in circuses are becoming increasingly loud all over the world. 45 countries have already banned the use of trained animals and birds in performances. This trend began a long time ago, back in the 70s of the last century, but it gained particular strength in the 90s. The reason was the tragic death of the circus elephant Taik.

It all started when a very young elephant was captured in the savannah of Mozambique in 1974. Animal traders sold her to the United States, to the "Circus International". There, the elephant performed for almost 20 years, subjected to the usual cruel training methods. In the early 90s, the abuse affected Tyke's psyche so much that she began to commit dangerous acts.

The first "bell" rang on April 21, 1993. During a circus tour in Pennsylvania, the elephant, right in the middle of a performance, left the circus through the doors and went outside. Tyke remained at large for several hours until circus employees and the police managed to drive her back into the building. That time, cars and municipal property worth approximately $14,000 were damaged.

The second incident occurred on July 23 of the same year, 1993. During a performance at a fair in Mayonnaise, North Dakota, a female elephant suddenly got out of control. She seriously injured her trainer and ran around the street for 25 minutes before calming down. What caused such behavior in an animal that had worked in a circus for almost two decades?

There is a document in the USDA archives that tells of the cruel treatment of an elephant named Tyke in a traveling circus. There is no exact information about whether this is the same elephant, but the name and some dates match.

The minutes describe unpleasant incidents during the performances:

Even if we are talking about another elephant, which is unlikely, the situation clearly demonstrates the methods of interaction between trainers and animals.

The tragic ending of this story came on August 23, 1994. "Circus International" was on tour in Honolulu, Hawaii. During a rehearsal, Tyke became enraged and grabbed assistant trainer Dallas Beckett with her trunk. The animal threw the man to the ground several times, causing him serious injuries.

Tyke then killed trainer Allen Campbell by trampling him. The elephant then headed for the exit of the circus tent. There, she encountered a brave local journalist, Steve Hirano. He did not see what had happened to the circus workers and simply wanted to stop Tyke from escaping.

The elephant grabbed Hirano with her trunk and began to beat him against the surrounding objects. A policeman, who arrived in time to hear the noise, fired several times from a pistol in the direction of the elephant. This forced the animal to release Hirano, who was seriously injured but alive. After this, Tyke broke out into the street and began to move chaotically around the city.

Police chased the maddened elephant for more than half an hour. Law enforcement officers shot the animal 86 times with pistols, shotguns and automatic weapons. Later, 3.6 kg of lead were found in the elephant's body. Despite the horrific wounds, Tyke died for almost two hours.

The tragedy in Honolulu caused a powerful resonance in the United States. The public demanded a thorough investigation of the case and punishment of the perpetrators. The police opened criminal cases against the Honolulu authorities and the owner of the "Circus International" John Cuneo Jr.

The prosecution was represented by attorney William Fenton Sink. He had thousands of statements from people who considered themselves victims, including hundreds of children. The police had to work hard to establish the exact cause of what happened.

An autopsy of Allen Campbell's body showed that he had no chance of survival. The elephant had smashed the hated trainer's skull and broken all his ribs. Alcohol and traces of cocaine were found in the deceased's blood. Investigators found witnesses who confirmed Campbell's cruelty to his charges.

The testimony was given by employees of the Denver Zoo. They witnessed how in the 80s a trainer beat elephants and camels. At that time, a lawsuit was even filed against the sadist, but the case was simply hushed up. This time, it was not possible to "hush it up". The tragedy in Honolulu led to changes in US legislation. Today, circuses with trained animals are prohibited in 22 states of the country.

There have been many similar cases in the world. The most famous incident involving an elephant is considered to be the escape of an animal named Vova from the Yerevan Zoo.