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Circus elephant goes berserk, wildlife dept. officials called in

Kolkata: There was temporary panic within the premises of a private circus company here on Wednesday when one of its elephants went berserk, damaging circus property.

Attempts by the circus employees to rein in the elephant, a fully-grown adult male called Bhola, having failed, Wildlife department officials were called in.

They used tranquilizer darts, shot from a distance of about 10 feet, to control the animal.

Tension prevailed in the rather densely populated Tala Park area where the circus was stationed and a huge crowd gathered to witness the antics of the elephant.

Trouble started in the morning when one of the two pairs of shackles was opened to enable the elephant to drink water.

The mahout (trainer) failed to control it when the elephant offered resistance and it started attacking the circus tent, shaking the gate and the ticket counter close to it. The elephant, however, did not break free from the premises.

“The elephant is in heat,” said Rathin Banerjee, Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife), explaining the reasons behind such unnatural behaviour.

The circus authorities have decided to suspend the show involving Bhola for the next seven days to provide him rest.

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