When animals go bad

[nitpicker1]

Warning  Warning   may  not  be  suitable  for Juvenile  Dolphins  Warning    Warning   may    not    be    suitable    for   Juvenile   Dolphins

[Lovelee]

The Northern Territory Government has announced an emergency cull as the outback community of Docker River comes under siege from thousands of marauding feral camels.

It is common to see some feral camels in the Indigenous community, 500 kilometres south-west of Alice Springs, but numbers have spiked as thirsty camels invade peoples' homes in search of water.

"The community of Docker River is under siege by 6,000 marauding wild camels," NT Local Government Minister Rob Knight said.

"They are intruding on the private properties of residents, they are damaging infrastructure, they have knocked down fencing at the air strip."

The chief executive of the local shire, Graham Taylor, says the situation is dire because children in Docker River could be injured by the camels.

"I think the words 'under siege' are good words because it talks about people being stuck in their homes and looking out and seeing just numbers of camels at your front door," he said.

"And if they get anxious and want more water and stick their head through the window, I suppose you've then got another problem, so they're still chasing the water."

The Territory Government is spending $50,000 on a cull in the next week.

Helicopters will herd the camels 15 kilometres outside the community where they will be shot and left to decay.


Camel management plan

It is estimated there are more than 1 million camels roaming through a vast area in the outback.

The chief executive of the Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association, Luke Bowen, says pastoralists in the north are fed up with the damage being caused to their stations.

"This is a plague of biblical proportions laying waste to a sensitive and arid environment," he said.

"It has been something that has been too hard to deal with; it's been duck-shoved around from state to state and nobody has been able to stand up and cooperatively, collectively do anything about it."

In August, the Federal Government announced a $19 million grant for camel control to go to the corporate arm of the Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research centre.

But the company is yet to receive the money because the contract is still under negotiation.

Mr Bowen says bureaucracy is getting in the way.

"As a pastoral industry we are watching very carefully to ensure that our problems are not ignored and that we are not going to see more studies, more consultation but no action," he said.

"We have to have action; we have to have it now."

But the head of the Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre, Jan Ferguson, says preparing a camel control program in four states takes time and consultation is essential.

"You can't start a project without a contract; you can't start a project without a plan, and we're in the process of doing that," she said.

"It's not a very long time at all since all of this was negotiated, and we'll work through it and we'll have a thorough plan."

Ms Ferguson says even with the $19 million program in place, other measures to control feral camels will still be needed.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/26/2753917.htm

[Lovelee]

Every so often in the Washington Metro subway system, a foot gets caught in an escalator.

Usually, the culprit is a shoe lace or a flip-flop sandal.

On Monday, it was a bird's talon.

Fire department spokesman Pete Piringer says rescuers were called to a station Monday.

A large bird of prey — possibly a hawk or a falcon — had its foot stuck in the moving staircase.

Metro employees shut off the power, and a passerby held the bird to keep it from injuring itself more.

When firefighters arrived, they removed a portion of the escalator to free the bird.

Piringer says that despite a slightly injured foot, the bird flew to the top of a nearby gas station, where it sat for a while before continuing on its way.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10615583&ref=rss

[nitpicker1]

US mum, baby killed by elephant in Kenya
By Jason Straziuso, AAP
January 7, 2010, 8:55 am

A lone elephant charged out of the brush as an American family was hiking near Mount Kenya and trampled to death a mother and the one-year-old daughter she held in her arms, officials said on Wednesday.

Four adults and the baby were walking with an unarmed guide just outside Mount Kenya National Park on Monday morning when the elephant charged, said Kenya Wildlife Service official Michael Kipkeu.

The family was hiking on a nature trail about 2km from the Castle Forest Lodge, where the family was vacationing, said the owner, Melia van Laar.
"The elephant emerged from the bush at full speed without any warning," van Laar said.

"Everybody ran away, but the lady, burdened by the weight of the baby, perhaps, or in panic, was not able to run fast enough."
Officials identified the woman as Sharon Brown, 39, and said her daughter's name was Margaux. No hometown in the United States was given.

Brown and her husband are listed as faculty members at the International School of Kenya. Friends and colleagues at the American-curriculum K-12 school held a memorial service on Wednesday.
A school official declined to comment on the deaths, as did a representative of the family.

Walking tours of Kenya's many national parks are common, though hikers are advised to have an armed guard with them if the park is known to have elephants, said Kentice Tikolo, a spokeswoman for the Kenya Wildlife Service.
"It was a lone elephant and lone elephants can be quite dangerous," Tikolo said. "It probably felt quite threatened."

Tikolo said deaths by charging elephants are rare in Kenya, though they happen about once a year.

Because the Castle Forest Lodge lies just outside the boundary of Mount Kenya National Park, the family was walking with a hotel guide, who is not allowed to carry a gun, said Tikolo. The national park is about 300km north of the capital, Nairobi.

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/6651071/us-mum-baby-killed-by-elephant-in-kenya/

[dragontamer]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3258763/Mammoth-surgery-after-dog-attack

Whakatane District Council spokesman Barney Dzowa said that about 1pm the neighbour let their female pitbull and male pitbull mastiff-cross out of their kennel in the backyard and they immediately set upon the child.

What a freaken idiot.  We have 2 dogs who are not 'at risk' dogs but we never 'let them out' when new or young people are around.....  2 is instantly a pack.....  Little people are always the first that get attacked due to them being lower down and perceived as more of a threat or a threat that is more quickly dealt with in a dogs world.

[Magoo]

Dogs!  A bit like children.  Anyone can have them.        The child will probably  suffer emotionally and possibly physically from this attack for the rest of its life.

[Lovelee]

  A monkey has been sighted roaming the streets of Darwin's northern suburbs.

The Northern Territory environment department said the monkey was spotted earlier today

"A bus driver and other witnesses spotted the monkey at 9.45am this morning in front of a bus that was travelling on Henbury Avenue near the Lyons Estate," the department said in a media release.

They have warned people to stay clear of the animal.

"Monkeys can be aggressive and bite," the department said.

"It's not known where the monkey has come from therefore as a public health and safety precaution we urge all members of the public to be cautious."

The department said monkeys are a restricted species in the Northern Territory and can only be kept with the relevant permits.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/05/2811708.htm

[Lovelee]

A SeaWorld killer whale seized a trainer in its jaws and thrashed the woman around underwater today, killing her in front of a horrified audience. It marked the third time the animal had been involved in a human death.

Distraught audience members were hustled out of the stadium immediately, and the park was closed.

Trainer Dawn Brancheau, 40, was one of the park's most experienced. It was not clear if she drowned or died from the thrashing.

A former contractor with SeaWorld told the Orlando Sentinel that the whale, Tilikum, is typically kept isolated from SeaWorld's other killer whales and that trainers were not allowed to get in the water with him because of his violent history.

There were conflicting accounts of the attack. The sheriff's office said Brancheau slipped or fell into the whale's tank, but at least one witness said the animal leaped from the water and dragged the woman in.

A retired couple from Michigan said that today's killing happened as a noontime show was winding down, with some in the audience staying to watch the animals and trainers.

Spectator Eldon Skaggs said Brancheau was on a platform with the whale and was massaging it. He said the interaction appeared leisurely and informal.

Then, Skaggs said, the whale "pulled her under and started swimming around with her."

Skaggs said an alarm sounded and staff rushed the audience out of the stadium as workers scrambled around with nets.

Skaggs said he heard that during an earlier show the whale was not responding to directions. Others who attended the earlier show said the whale was behaving like an ornery child.

The couple left and did not find out until later that the trainer had died.

"We were just a little bit stunned," said Skaggs' wife, Sue Nichols.

Another audience member, Victoria Biniak, told WKMG-TV the whale "took off really fast in the tank, and then he came back, shot up in the air, grabbed the trainer by the waist and started thrashing around, and one of her shoes flew off."

Two other witnesses told the Sentinel that the whale grabbed the woman by the upper arm and tossed her around in its mouth while swimming rapidly around the tank. Brazilian tourist Joao Lucio DeCosta Sobrinho and his girlfriend were at an underwater viewing area when they suddenly saw a whale with a person in its mouth.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10628463&ref=rss



Dawn Brancheau had wanted to work at SeaWorld since she was nine years old

[Magoo]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/3376987/Dead-trainer-prised-from-whales-jaws

[Lovelee]

"Many people are asking about the future care of Tilikum, the whale involved in the incident.  We have every intention of continuing to interact with this animal, though the procedures for working with him will change. We are still reviewing this incident and will evaluate the situation and make a decision accordingly."

http://news.discovery.com/animals/killer-whales-fate-decided.html

[nitpicker1]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/3376987/Dead-trainer-prised-from-whales-jaws

"Many people are asking about the future care of Tilikum, the whale involved in the incident.  We have every intention of continuing to interact with this animal, though the procedures for working with him will change. We are still reviewing this incident and will evaluate the situation and make a decision accordingly."

http://news.discovery.com/animals/killer-whales-fate-decided.html

any bets on how long it will be before it gets another trainer/bystander?



SeaWorld killer whale death - new details emerge
2:30 PM Tuesday Mar 2, 2010

MIAMI - A killer whale which dragged a trainer to her death eluded Florida SeaWorld workers who furiously unfurled nets while it swam pool-to-pool during the attack last week, according to witness statements released today.

After minutes of frenzied work to save Dawn Brancheau, the whale was finally corralled but still refused to unclench its teeth and let go of her body, according to the investigative reports released by the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators have said before that Brancheau died from multiple traumatic injuries and drowning.

"The whale would not let us have her," another trainer, Jodie Ann Tintle, told investigators after the attack last Wednesday local time.

In the investigative reports, Brancheau's co-workers describe the swiftness of the attack and the furious response that came after alarms sounded around the pool. Employees who were at other pools, behind computers or emptying coolers of fish rushed to the scene.

The reports released today include the first extensive accounts from employees who witnessed the attacks at the park in Orlando.

Jan Topoleski, whose job is to monitor trainers' safety during shows, told investigators he saw Brancheau lying on the deck face-to-face with 6.7metre-long, 5440 kilogram whale and communicating with him right before the attack.

He said the whale, named Tilikum, bit Brancheau's hair and pulled her into the pool in a span of about two seconds. He sounded an alarm and grabbed safety equipment.

Susanne De Wit, a 33-year-old tourist from the Netherlands, told investigators her group had just walked to a window for a photo when she saw the attack. The attack occurred in front of about 20 visitors who had stuck around after a noontime show.

"Suddenly I saw (the whale) grabbing the trainer ... and pulling her down in the water," she said. "It was scary. He was very wild, with the trainer still in the whale's mouth, the whale's tail was very wild in the water."

Tanner Grogan, who scrambled to help other employees unfurl nets to isolate Tilikum, said the whale at one point let go for several seconds, but snatched Brancheau again by the foot before anyone could react.

The plastic, weighted nets - similar to temporary fencing used at construction sites - were unrolled and dropped in the water to help direct the whale to a pool with a hydraulic lift.

It is not clear how long it took workers to finally trap the whale in a pool with the lift, which they used to remove him from the water. One witness said it seemed like 10 minutes. Another said it could have been as long as 30 minutes.

Even after the whale was lifted out of the water, Brancheau could still not be freed.

"Tilly was not giving up Dawn," said Robin Ann Morland, another SeaWorld worker.

Numerous employees said the whale's jaw had to be pried open to remove Brancheau, 40. But her hand remained in the clench of Tilikum and they had to pry his mouth open again.

When they finally got Brancheau free, her body was placed on the deck and her wetsuit cut off. Paramedics pronounced her dead, and her body was covered.

-AP
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10629465&pnum=0

[Magoo]

You would think that after the demise of three people they would be getting the message that he has a taste for people meat.  That would be sufficient to prevent me from visiting the joint.

[Lovelee]

How they expected the whale to allow them to capture her beats me.

They are called killer whales for a reason, Im sure. 

If it was a dog .. it would have been put down 3 times over!

[dragontamer]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4544103/Gang-fears-after-dog-mauls-boy

At the first utterance of a threat I would crush them.  The retaliation to said threat would be so far over the top, the bastards would never consider thinking about retaliation again.

[nitpicker1]

this seems to be the most appropriate thread to record this, but they're less than animals
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10704132

 

[Lovelee]

Police and fisheries boats were late yesterday still searching for the body of an abalone diver who had survived one close encounter with a great white shark only to be taken by two others off South Australia on Thursday evening.

Peter Clarkson, 49, was attacked by the pair as he surfaced near a boat skippered by Howard Rodd, who survived a 50-hour swim to shore a decade ago after his boat was overturned by a freak wave.

Rodd's companion stayed with the boat and was never seen again.

On Thursday, Rodd watched in horror as the two great whites took Clarkson, a highly experienced diver with a degree in zoology who had worked for years along the coast between South Australia's Port Lincoln and Esperance in Western Australia.

"I saw the beast come up and take him," ABC radio reported Rodd as telling police. "There's no way he could have survived."

Late yesterday police said Rodd remained in shock and had provided few further details of the tragedy.

Adelaide-born Clarkson was working with Rodd from one of the aluminium-hulled boats that harvest the state's abalone fisheries, which provide 20 per cent of Australian production and earn the state more than A$50 million ($63.7 million) a year.

They were operating near Coffin Bay, a small fishing village on the western tip of the Eyre Peninsula, named for a 19th century Royal Navy Commissioner.

The region, like much of South Australia, is known for its shark population, including the protected great whites which patrol the coast on cruises of more than 6000km from Esperance to Rockhampton in north Queensland.

Great whites, protected in Australian waters, can grow to 6m in length and weigh more than two tonnes, and usually feed on squid, stingrays, other sharks and marine mammals such as seals and dolphins.

But they also attack humans more than any other species.

The area where Clarkson and Rodd were working accounts for five of the 11 South Australian shark deaths in the past 25 years. An average of one person a year is killed by sharks around Australia.

South Australia's abalone divers frequently use safety cages or devices such as the Shark Shield, a South African invention using electrical waves to repel sharks and which has been adopted by Australian Navy divers.

It is not known if Clarkson was using the device when he was attacked, but a testimonial on the Shark Shield website described an earlier terrifying encounter he had with a great white off Kalbarri in WA.

Diving at about 50m while researching a book about cowry shells, Clarkson was heading for the surface when he realised 10m away a great white was tracking his ascent.

"It was a scenario I had rehearsed in my mind a thousand times during the 27 years I have been diving, but this was the first shark of this species that I had encountered underwater," he wrote.

Both reached the surface at the same time, the shark's dorsal fin briefly flashing before turning towards Clarkson.

"Head-on, the shark was a very intimidating sight and prior to this moment I never really felt 'threatened' by its presence." he said.

"It halted 5m to 6m away from me. I had the distinct impression that the shark sensed something was 'not right' about the wetsuit-clad creature which was the focus of its interest.

"Several times, it swam out almost to the limit of visibility (15m) before returning and stopping again at the same distance from me."

Clarkson waited, and the shark finally turned away.

His presumed death has devastated the community around Coffin Bay, and friends and abalone divers across the Great Australian Bight.

"The shock's settled in the town at the moment, I think, amongst a few of the guys that are into shell diving and abalone diving," Mark Payne, a close friend, told the ABC in Esperance.

South Australian Abalone Industry Association president Jonas Woolford said the diving community was reeling from the tragedy.

"They're all extremely upset about it," he told the ABC.

"I think every diver will be asking themselves the question, how can we do things safer?"

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10707314

[Lovelee]

A MAN became a sitting target for a snake, which bit his penis as sat on the toilet.
"As soon as he sat down, he suddenly felt a knife-like pain and reacted instinctively by standing up," the China Times said. "When he looked down, he saw the big snake."

The 51-year-old Taiwanese man, from Nantou County, Tapei, was under medical care with minor injuries, a director at Puli Christian Hospital said.

"As soon as he has passed the risk of infection, he can go," the director, who declined to be named, said.

"A snake's mouth isn't always clean."

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/wacky/snake-bites-mans-penis-as-he-sat-on-toilet/story-e6frev20-1225711539785

[Lovelee]

An 18-year-old caught trying to have sex with a cow was enrolled in a farm training course at the time.

The teen, whose name is suppressed, was working on a Cambridge dairy farm when his offending was observed shortly after morning milking in October last year.

In the Hamilton District Court yesterday he was sentenced to four months' home detention after admitting a charge of attempted bestiality.

He also pleaded guilty to 13 counts of using a document for pecuniary advantage after he stole his elderly neighbours' eftpos card, racking up a $651 debt.

His parents were present as defence counsel Russell Boot detailed their son's considerable learning and behavioural difficulties.

Mr Boot said the teen was impulsive and suffered from limited cognitive abilities. He was also diagnosed with ADHD and had suffered significant head traumas on two occasions.

He was currently seeking treatment from a psychologist.

Mr Boot said members of the teen's community had learnt of his client's offending and this was a significant punishment in itself.

Crown prosecutor Richard Annandale, however, urged the court to include a punitive element in the teen's sentence.

He said the owner of the farm where the incident occurred had suffered significant ridicule and was less willing to employ other workers.

The farmer had offered to teach and mentor the teen, and felt his trust and good nature had been abused.

Mr Annandale said the teen also abused his elderly neighbours' trust, built up over several years.

After finding his neighbours' eftpos card and learning their pin number he had used it to make a series of purchases.

He then returned the card in an effort to hide his offending.

Judge Arthur Tompkins said the teen would benefit from continued counselling and ordered him to pay $651 in reparation.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/4756374/Farm-worker-tries-sex-with-cow

[Magoo]

I hope he had to apologise to the cow. 

[Lovelee]

A savaging by a pitbull has left Perry the guide dog nursing his wounds and his owner worried whether he will be able to work again.

The 8-year-old golden labrador was walking with his blind owner, Anne Ferguson, and her husband, Blair, when he was set upon by what is thought to be a pitbull-cross at a Hamilton shopping centre yesterday afternoon.

The attacker is understood to have been in a car but saw Perry and ran across a carpark to attack him.

Mrs Ferguson, a Gold Coast PhD student who is visiting New Zealand on an academic trip, could do little as the pitbull latched on to Perry's head.

Her husband was bitten as he tried unsuccessfully to release the guide dog from the pitbull's grip.

Perry, taught not to respond aggressively, stood in front of his owner as he took a mauling.

"He has no instinct to attack or to defend himself so he didn't do anything - his instinct was to look after me," said Mrs Ferguson.

"I remember thinking 'I can't help him'. I was thinking 'get this bloody thing off my dog', I thought he was going to kill Perry."

The attack happened at Hamilton shopping complex The Base. Janice Vaughan, acting manager of store Dog's Breakfast, said at first she thought the commotion outside her shop was "a bit of fisticuffs".

"We could hear the dog barking. It was in a vehicle but obviously it took exception to the labrador and just went for it."

Ms Vaughan said she saw the pitbull locked on to Perry's head with Mrs Ferguson "absolutely distraught".

"She couldn't see a thing as this dog mauled her guide dog - it's such an awful thing to happen on their holiday."

Another witness said the dogs were eventually separated before they brought Perry and the Fergusons inside the store.

"This is this woman's eyes we are talking about - it was just horrific for her and all of the bystanders who saw it happen. She was understandably terrified."

She said dog control officers arrived not long after as a crowd gathered to stop the other dog owner from leaving.

It is understood the pitbull has been impounded.

Hamilton police shift commander Craig Taylor said the pitbull owner was likely to be prosecuted.

He was unsure of the dog's fate.

Perry was treated by a nearby veterinarian. He has cuts around his right eye and will be off work for at least two weeks on a course of antibiotics.

Mrs Ferguson wanted to thank the people who helped her and Perry.

She would like to come back to New Zealand but doubts Perry will be making the return trip.

She also worries about his future.

"There's the aspect of if he gets frightened by another dog or every other dog is a potential threat. That could mean he might not work again.

"But he's my best friend, he's my everything."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10737061

[Lovelee]

A leopard strayed into a village in West Bengal's Darjeeling district yesterday and severely injured several policemen and forest guards who were trying to tranquillise it. Five villagers were also injured.

The Hindu newspaper's website reported that the leopard died after it was taken to a veterinary centre in the town of Sukna.

The Hindu quoted Forest Department officials as saying the leopard had strayed into Salugara village, either from the Baikunthapur range or the Mahananda reserve forest.

"It was spotted near a house in the morning by villagers who raised an alarm, and this startled the leopard," Kanchan Banerjee, a forest ranger in the Sukna Wildlife Range, told the Hindu. "With the villagers trying to chase it, it tried to flee and injured five villagers in the process. Then, the leopard took shelter in an abandoned house."

Villagers contacted Forest Department officials who arrived later with policemen and forest guards.

"The animal pounced upon a forest guard when he tried to tranquillise it at the house, injuring him critically," Banerjee said. "The leopard fled from the site and took shelter in the bushes at the end of the village.

"The forest guards were able to locate it, and as they were approaching the spot in an open-hood vehicle, the leopard pounced. Three policemen were severely injured."

The leopard was tranquillised but also suffered injuries, as the policemen had used batons and knives. It later died at the Sukna veterinary centre.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10739823

[nitpicker1]

see also http://xtranewscommunity2.smfforfree.com/index.php/topic,3733.0/msg,130005.html

Claim elephant mentally damaged
 By Kate Shuttleworth and NZ Herald staff

 9:48 AM Thursday Apr 26, 2012

A former circus elephant who fatally crushed its keeper yesterday lived most of its life in a small trailer and had "psychological damage,'' says an animal rights group.
 
The group that campaigned for 20 years to have Mila, formerly called Jumbo, released from the circus succeeded three years ago.
 
Director of Save Animals from Exploitation (SAFE) Hans Kriek worked closely with Mila, and said he had also worked with Helen Schofield, who died yesterday, to find a better home for the elephant.
 
"We campaigned to get Jumbo away from a life of solitary confinement stuck in a trailer,'' he told Radio New Zealand this morning
 
Dr Schofield had planned to visit a Californian rehabilitation centre for former circus and zoo animals called Performance Animal Welfare Society, or PAWS.
 
"That's the key thing with elephants, they need to live with other elephants because they are such social animals,'' he said.
 
"We knew she wouldn't be perfectly fine here because there are no other African elephants in New Zealand.''

"We always knew Franklin zoo was only going to be a temporary solution. Helen was training her to get her ready to accept being in a crate so she could be transported,'' said Kriek.
 
Jumbo, now Mila, had been owned by New Zealand circus owner Tony Ratcliffe but had been sold to Loritz circus which had plans to build an enclosure for her.
 
Loritz circus relinquished responsibility for Mila and signed her over to the SPCA, after which she was transferred to Franklin Zoo as a temporary home.
 
Mr Ratcliffe told Radio New Zealand today he was the only person who knew how to handle Mila, and Franklin zoo had been ignorant of the elephant's capabilities.
 
"I am the last line of true elephant handlers - I doubt if Auckland zoo will be able to handle this situation. Their elephant handlers are not equipped to handle an elephant like this,'' he said.
 
"Loritz Circus were meant to build a place for her and it didn't eventuate. They dumped her on the SPCA who held her standing in her own faeces, urine and hay for three days until they called me to help. I got that situation resurrected and took her to the zoo that didn't want me. Then they rang and said we need your help to get her out of the trailer. Now I have offered help again - they've got no handler that can get her out and do anything with her - I don't even know if I can do anything with her because they have been messing with her.''
 
He claimed he never had a problem with the elephant.
 
"She's a beautiful elephant, she's been messed around by people who have no knowledge of them at all,'' he said.
 
SAFE's Mr Kriek said there was a long record of keepers of elephants either in circuses of zoos who had been killed.
 
"It's very tragic really,'' he said.
 
- APNZ

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/animals/news/article.cfm?c_id=500834&objectid=10801547




Campaigners say circus 'damaged' Mila the elephant
Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:18p.m

...The zoo's gates have stayed shut since Mila crushed her keeper Helen Schofield to death yesterday.

Ms Schofield also owned the zoo, and had dedicated herself to looking after Mila since the elephant was released from a circus two-and-a-half years ago. ...

http://www.3news.co.nz/Campaigners-say-circus-damaged-Mila-the-elephant/tabid/423/articleID/251931/Default.aspx



 







 

[nitpicker1]

...Mr Kerridge told Fairfax Media there were now three options: sending the elephant to a sanctuary, which was expensive but the ideal option; someone replacing Ms Schofield at the zoo and continuing to care for the elephant; or the "worst option" of putting down the elephant. ...

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/13522572/agitated-elephant-crushed-keeper/

seems to me that the worst option is the ONLY one   

[Crusader]

Putting an animal down just because it attacks a human whilst in captivity is IMO insane. Do we put humans down for attacking animals?

[nitpicker1]

Putting an animal down just because it attacks a human whilst in captivity is IMO insane. Do we put humans down for attacking animals?

 Do we put humans down for attacking animals? I will ignore that facetious (I hope) comment.


So would you be quite happy to let it live if a dog in the captivity of yr neighbours back yard savaged/killed your daughter?

Many dogs attack when their victim is running away in fear!

According to today's news, the elephant attacked while Dr Helen Schofield tried to run from it.

you can muzzle a dog, but you can't muzzle a elephant.


My bolding emphasis:
Vet tripped fleeing charging elephant
By Andrew Koubaridis
5:30 AM Friday Apr 27, 2012

Visitors and staff watched in horror as zoo keeper Dr Helen Schofield tried to run from the elephant that killed her, only to trip close to the door and be dragged back inside and picked up by the elephant's trunk.

 New details have emerged of the horrifying last few minutes of Dr Schofield's life and the frantic effort to save her.

 She was killed late Wednesday afternoon when 39-year-old African elephant Mila picked her up after she went in to calm it down.

 The Herald has been told the animal received a shock after it brushed its trunk against an electric fence that secures its enclosure.

 It's understood Dr Schofield had been in the enclosure just before the incident and had been speaking to zoo-goers about Mila.

 She had left the enclosure, but went back inside with a bucket of fruit to try to calm it down after someone reported the elephant suddenly jumped at least 1m sideways after the electric shock.

Mila put her head down and advanced, slowly at first, but then with increasing speed. Dr Schofield turned and ran - but tripped about a metre from the enclosure's exit.

 The Herald understands Mila, who is estimated to weigh three tonnes, used her trunk to pull her back by the leg, wrapped her trunk around the vet's midsection, and picked her up.

 Onlookers said Dr Schofield was able to speak and calmly called the command to put her down.

 Mila eventually knelt and pushed her trunk down on a bank in the enclosure, as Dr Schofield asked to be let go.

 When Mila finally released her she was still talking and was seen to move. Mila backed away but then moved towards her again and repeatedly brushed her trunk up against her - and she didn't move again.

 Franklin Zoo staff members entered the enclosure and used food and hay to lure Mila away.

 When an advanced paramedic arrived soon after, Dr Schofield was dead.

 Mila had been known to be aggressive and unsettled in the past. Dr Schofield was the only one who would enter her enclosure and was said to have developed a bond with the elephant who become more passive under her care.

 In a statement yesterday, staff from Franklin Zoo said there had been many messages of support and donations had already started to come in.

 "Helen was incredibly passionate about the welfare of animals, and your sentiments are a reflection of how giving and selfless she was. Special thanks goes to the team from Auckland Zoo who have been a big help ensuring the animals continue receiving the care they need," the statement on the zoo's Facebook site said.

 Dr Schofield was owner and director of the Franklin Zoo, where she had set up a charitable trust to take on exotic animals in need of new homes.

 Zoo workers were being assisted by colleagues from Auckland Zoo but no decisions had been made last night on what would happen to Mila.

 A friend of Dr Schofield's said her family didn't bear any ill-feeling towards the animal, but zoo staff would have to consult the SPCA and Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries before any final decision was made.

 The day before her death, she spoke to the director of animal rights organisation Safe NZ about her optimism for Mila's future and her hopes to eventually send her to a bigger sanctuary.

 Mila's former circus owner, Tony Ratcliffe, who called her Jumbo, yesterday said even the most tame and best elephants could kill and maim people, and that could happen no matter how they were treated.

 The elephant went to the zoo in 2009 from the Weber Bros Circus after she was handed over to the SPCA.

 "Many reasons can be found for accidents and elephant attacks.

 "I do not and will not subscribe to the theory they don't attack unless they have been mistreated," he said.

 On Radio New Zealand yesterday, he rejected the suggestion the elephant had struggled to come to terms with living in the zoo after life in the circus.

 He said he never had any trouble with the animal.

 "My children have grown up around her ... she's been a beautiful elephant.

 "She's been messed around with by people who have no knowledge of them at all," he said.
By Andrew Koubaridis

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10801738