Winkie an elephant at the Hohenwald Tennessee Sanctuary killed a keeper and injured a person who came to the keeper’s aid.
The public cannot visit and PETA really likes these folks.
They don’t train like Riddle’s Sanctuary here in Arkansas. I didn’t think they even inteacted with their elephants.
I’ve seen a couple of short video clips of elephants killing people, one where someone was just stomped, and the other who was picked up and smashed into the ground like a soft fruit.
Its the sheer power that is frightening, its an order of magnitude greater than any other land animal.
Wow.
The elephant from our local zoo here in Evansville, Bunny, is at that sanctuary now.
The linked article said she was either stepped on or kicked, apparantly dying “on the spot.”
It also said the creature had a history as a dangerous animal, with numerous attacks on file. I was under the impression (no, no cite at all, that’s why I phrased it as “under the impression”) that dangerous animals were routinely put down. What happened here? A 30 year history of attacks?
The Elephant may not be put down.
This is a poor decision, IMHO. If the beast runs amok, & breaks out of the Sanctuary, the community would demand that the place close forever.
The animal needs to be put down.
That’s one of the reasons they are here, so that elephants like Winkie don’t need to be euthanized. Winkie did fine for five or six years. I prefer the way Riddles’ handles elephants, with training, but they probably know better than I.
They elephants are in fenced areas. Riddle’s fences are made from rail road rails. I don’t know about Hohenwald. They are unable to use their complete area because they haven’t fenced it all.
I see …
So they bring the animal there, in the hopes that limited human contact lessens any threat of danger. An admirable concept. Pity this happened then. I fear Trout Slinger may well be right about the uninformed public rising up in protest, tho.
Tragic all the way around.
Thaaaat’s Mister trout Slinger to you, laddie! 
Pictures of Winkie with the trainer she injured.
La Petite is an elephant these guys wanted. She was difficult in Austria, probably killed a guy in Britain and killed her calf in Israel.
First time mothers often kill their calves by error; that’s why the Riddle guys want to keep Mothers in herds. The Aunts and sisters show them how to care for their calves.
I didn’t realize the Tennessee people interacted to that extent with the animals.