Circus elephant kills zookeeper

An AFRICAN elephant has killed a zookeeper caring for it at a New Zealand zoo, where the animal was retired after performing in circuses for decades.

The woman was in an enclosure yesterday at Franklin Zoo and Wildlife Sanctuary, south of Auckland, when the female elephant, named Mila, got a fright and wrapped its powerful trunk around her. Mila is the only elephant at zoo, which cares for exotic and native animals being retired or re-homed.

Mila, formerly known as Jumbo, moved to the zoo in 2009 after being the centre of a campaign by animal rights groups, having performed in circuses for 30 years. The zoo built a new enclosure for Mila in 2010.