But there’s no question that her living conditions were inhumane.Ĭhained up for 22 hours per day, Tyke the elephant spent her remaining time in training sessions - which often involved shouting, denigration, and abuse. Some of her former trainers - like Tyrone Taylor - claimed to have a deep affection for Tyke. Like many elephants captured in the wild and sold to the Hawthorn Corporation, Tyke was forced into abusive servitude as a circus performer early on.īorn in the early 1970s in Mozambique, Tyke was snatched up as a baby and pressured into rigorous training from a young age.
And sadly, her experience was no anomaly. The Life Of Tyke The Elephantįacebook Tyke with her trainer, Tyrone Taylor, after one of her multiple escape attempts.Īs chronicled in the 2015 documentary Tyke Elephant Outlaw, Tyke didn’t have an easy life. But sadly, it didn’t last long before she was cornered by police - and gunned down by 87 bullets. Running through the streets outside, Tyke enjoyed more freedom than she’d seen in about two decades. Desperate to escape, she then made a mad dash for the exit. Not only did she kill her trainer, but she also seriously injured her groomer - much to the horror of the audience. Blaisdell Center for yet another show.īut Tyke had other plans. The 21-year-old animal was soon ushered into the Neal S. After several performances on the mainland United States, Tyke had been shipped to Honolulu. Unfortunately, that fateful day in 1994 saw the streets of Hawaii run red with elephant blood. But it was only a matter of time before she fought back. Sadly, she then endured years of abuse by her handlers. Shipped to the United States, Tyke was quickly sold off to the Hawthorn Corporation - a company that supplied animals to circuses. Even Ringling Brothers, the most famous wild animal circus in history, finally agreed to phase elephants out of its shows.Wikimedia Commons After she fled the circus arena, Tyke the elephant ran wild on the streets of Honolulu.Ĭaptured from Mozambique as a baby in 1973, Tyke the elephant was trained as a circus animal from an early age. In the United States, individual cities have banned bullhooks, effectively ensuring that circuses that use elephants will not perform in their cities ever again, as bullhooks are essential tools in forcing elephants to perform. Sometimes, they snap – just as Tyke did.įortunately, a growing number of countries, including Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia, have realized the cruelty inherent in wild animal circuses and have outlawed them entirely. The combination of this treatment often causes them to become depressed or go insane. Circus elephants, in particular, suffer immensely when they are separated from their family units, chained by the legs for up to 23 hours per day, shipped around the world in tiny crates, and abused with bullhooks and other training devices. There is also no question that they are ill-suited to captivity and are often physically and psychologically harmed by it. There is no question that elephants, orcas, and other wild animals are highly intelligent and sensitive beings. Of course, Tilikum the orca is notorious for killing his trainer in 2010 by violently pulling her under the water at SeaWorld Orlando.
In 2003, famed performer Roy Horn was mauled by one of his captive tigers. In 1992, Janet the elephant was shot to death after breaking away from her trainer while being forced to give rides to children in Florida. While Tyke's story is shocking, stories of wild animals snapping and lashing out at people are unfortunately nothing new. Entering the world of circus elephants unlike ever before, this new documentary stands poised to make an important contribution to ongoing debates regarding holding wild animals captive so that they can entertain people. " Tyke Elephant Outlaw" tells Tyke's story, from her obvious frustration with being forced to perform mindless tricks to the rampage that left one person dead and several more injured. Thanks to a new documentary opening at the Sarasota Film Festival this month, that may soon change. While Tilikum is now well-known, many people may not be as familiar with Tyke, the circus elephant who went on a deadly rampage in Hawaii in 1994.
The film not only introduced the public to Tilikum, it created a wave of backlash against holding orcas captive in marine parks such as SeaWorld. Thanks to the successful documentary, " Blackfish," most people are now familiar with Tilikum, the orca made infamous for his role in the tragic death of his SeaWorld Orlando trainer, Dawn Brancheau. *Reblogged from One Green Planet* One Green Planet Article
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