Elephant kills an attendant at the Vienna zoo

VIENNA – An elephant from Africa killed an attendant in the zoo of Schoenbrunn, in Vienna. The news was spread by the police. The man, 39, was found inside the section where the elephant lives, on the floor, hidden from public view. “The elephant is called Abu; he is a young specimen. We do not know what exactly happened. The other zoo attendants heard a noise and when they arrived their colleague was already on the floor,” explained a spokesman for the Viennese police.

The zoo, opened in 1752 in the grounds of the summer imperial palace of Schoenbrunn, was the scene of another grave assault on an attendant, who in 2002 was killed by a spotted jaguar in front of visitors.

February 20, 2005