Tyke was being forced to perform with Circus International at the Neal Blaisdell Centre in Honolulu, Hawaii, when the tragedy unfolded – with police eventually left to chase her through the streets
An animal trainer was trampled to death by his own elephant in front of a horrified circus crowd – before it escaped and went on a rampage through the streets.
Tyke was a 20-year-old African bush elephant being forced to perform with Circus International at the Neal Blaisdell Centre in Honolulu, Hawaii, when the tragedy unfolded. During the fateful show on August 20, 1994, audience members spotted her kicking around what looked like a dummy. One eyewitness told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser: “We thought it was part of the show.” They quickly realised that Tyke was trampling her handler Allen Campbell, at which point the terrified crowd fled for the exits.
As pandemonium erupted in the arena, Tyke fled the building and bolted into the busy streets of downtown Honolulu. She charged after pedestrians and smashed into vehicles, sending both onlookers and drivers into a frantic scramble for safety. Authorities tried to subdue her, but the situation spiralled. Police fired a barrage of gunshots into the giant animal as she rampaged through several city blocks, before she finally collapsed from her wounds.
However, she didn’t die instantly – with the elephant eventually succumbing to massive nerve damage and bleeding on the brain. Animal rights groups seized on her tragic death as a rallying cry against wild-animal acts in circuses. Tyke’s story helped push Hawaii toward reform, culminating in a ban on exotic wild animals in traveling shows.
After the Moscow International Circus u-turned on a decision to include performing animals in one its circus shows in 2014, PETA said in a statement: “As the world saw 20 years ago when Tyke lashed out and died bellowing on the street, forcing frustrated animals to perform in circuses can have deadly consequences.
“PETA supporters and kind people around the world will be relieved to hear that the Moscow International Circus is putting safety and kindness first and going animal-free in Hawaii.”
Tyke was no stranger to escape attempts. Before the tragic rampage in Honolulu, she had already broken free twice in 1993 — once at the Jaffa Shrine Center in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and again at the North Dakota State Fair in Minot. On those occasions, she caused serious damage and terrified crowds, signaling a pattern of distress.
The fallen elephant has a memorial plaque in the pet cemetery at Valley of the Temples Cemetery in Honolulu. Earlier this year, a CEO died after being trampled by an elephant on his property in South Africa.
FC Conradie, the 39-year-old co-owner of a private game reserve on the Western Cape, suffered fatal injuries after the animal charged him on July 22. Paramedics rushed to the scene where he was tragically pronounced dead.
