A female keeper at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo was fighting for her life yesterday after being crushed against a fence post by “miracle” elephant Mr Shuffles, an animal she had cared for all its life.
An ambulance spokeswoman said emergency services were called to the elephant enclosure and discovered that a woman in her 40s had been badly hurt.
“She had critical injuries, multiple injuries. The patient was unconscious and had stopped breathing,” the spokeswoman said.
Paramedics later told reporters that the woman suffered severe chest injuries and her heart stopped beating for five minutes, before she was revived and rushed to hospital.
Zoo director Cameron Kerr said the injured keeper had worked with the elephant, Pathi Harn, since its birth in 2010, an event that made headlines at the time.
Better known as Mr Shuffles after its early wobbly attempts at walking, the elephant was believed to have died during labor but was born alive, defying expert opinion that such an outcome would take a “miracle.”
The zoo said the woman was conducting a routine training session when “a young male elephant pinned the female keeper against a bollard.”
“Two other keepers in an adjoining stall responded to her call and moved the elephant away,” it said in a statement, adding the public was never at risk.
“An investigation has been immediately commenced into this incident and what may have prompted the reaction. It’s unknown at this time why the young elephant challenged the keeper,” the zoo said.
Kerr described the elephants at the zoo as “domestic” because they “come from families brought up with people,” adding: “There’s a very close bond between our staff and our animals.”
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese