Tyke (elephant)
Encyclopedia
Tyke was a female circus
elephant
who on August 20, 1994, in Honolulu, Hawaii
, killed her trainer, Allen Campbell
, and gored her groomer Dallas Beckwith causing severe injuries during a Circus International performance before hundreds of horrified spectators at the Neal Blaisdell Center. Tyke then bolted from the arena and ran through downtown streets of Kakaako
for more than thirty minutes. Police fired 86 shots at Tyke, who eventually collapsed from the wounds onto a blue car and died.
Steve Hirano outside of the event. Video footage is available from PETA
.
, this wasn't the first time Tyke had gotten loose and run out of control. Tyke had caused three other incidents before:
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
who on August 20, 1994, in Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
, killed her trainer, Allen Campbell
Allen Campbell
Allen Campbell was a zookeeper and elephant trainer and handler in his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida before moving to work in the Baton Rouge zoo in the mid 1970s as the elephant keeper and trainer. He also ran the first elephant ride there...
, and gored her groomer Dallas Beckwith causing severe injuries during a Circus International performance before hundreds of horrified spectators at the Neal Blaisdell Center. Tyke then bolted from the arena and ran through downtown streets of Kakaako
Kakaako
Kakaako is the name of a commercial and retail district of Honolulu, Hawaii between Ala Moana near Waikīkī to the east, downtown Honolulu and Honolulu Harbor to the west. Kakaako is situated along the southern shores of the island of Oahu....
for more than thirty minutes. Police fired 86 shots at Tyke, who eventually collapsed from the wounds onto a blue car and died.
Video footage
Since she was performing at the time, the majority of Tyke's attack was caught on tape including the famous video image of the African elephant attacking publicistPublicist
A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album...
Steve Hirano outside of the event. Video footage is available from PETA
Peta
Peta can refer to:* peta-, an SI prefix denoting a factor of 1015* Peta, Greece, a town in Greece* Peta, the Pāli word for a Preta, or hungry ghost in Buddhism* Peta Wilson, an Australian actress and model* Peta Todd, English glamour model...
.
A history of problems
According to PETAPeta
Peta can refer to:* peta-, an SI prefix denoting a factor of 1015* Peta, Greece, a town in Greece* Peta, the Pāli word for a Preta, or hungry ghost in Buddhism* Peta Wilson, an Australian actress and model* Peta Todd, English glamour model...
, this wasn't the first time Tyke had gotten loose and run out of control. Tyke had caused three other incidents before:
- On April 21, 1993, 16 months before the incident in Hawaii, Tyke ripped through the front doors of the Jaffa Mosque during a performance and ran out of control for an hour in Altoona, PennsylvaniaAltoona, Pennsylvania-History:A major railroad town, Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as the site for a shop complex. Altoona was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868...
. An estimated 4,500 school children had to leave the building as it was evacuated, and the rampage caused more than $14,000 in damage. - In an affidavitAffidavitAn affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...
obtained by the USDA from a circus worker the next day on April 22, Tyke apparently had also attacked a tiger trainer while the circus was in Altoona, PennsylvaniaAltoona, Pennsylvania-History:A major railroad town, Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as the site for a shop complex. Altoona was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868...
. - It was also reported on July 23, 1993 that Tyke "ran amok at the North Dakota State Fair in Minot, N.D., trampling and injuring a handler and frightening the crowd as she ran uncontrolled for 25 minutes."
Aftermath
In the aftermath, Tyke became the poster elephant of circus tragedies and a symbol for animal rights. Dozens of lawsuits were filed against the city, the state, the circus and Tyke's owner, John Cuneo Jr. and his Hawthorn Corp. Honolulu trial lawyer William Fenton Sink successfully sued Cuneo on behalf of numerous plaintiffs, including young children, who suffered psychological injuries after witnessing Tyke's killing. The suits were settled out of court and the amounts were never made public. Based on Mr. Sink's work in the Tyke case, Animal Rights Hawaii renamed its prestigious Order of the Innocent award to The William Fenton Sink Award for Defense of Animals in honor of his work.See also
- List of historical elephants
- Elephant Rage
- Topsy
- Mary
- Chunee
- Rogue elephant of Aberdare ForestRogue elephant of Aberdare ForestThe rogue elephant of Aberdare Forest was a bull African Bush Elephant which terrorized several villages in the vicinity of the Aberdare Range in British East Africa in the early 20th century, destroying crops and killing at least one person. The bull was reportedly so cunning, that it never struck...