Elephant kills keeper at Springfield, Missouri, zoo

[ScreamingMeemie]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/11/us/missouri-zoo-death/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

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A 41-year-old elephant named Patience charged and killed a Springfield, Missouri, zookeeper who had come to feed her Friday.


John Phillip Bradford, 62, died in the elephant enclosure at Dickerson Park Zoo, according to Springfield Police Department spokeswoman Lisa Cox. He was the manager of elephants, and had worked at the zoo for 30 years, according to a zoo statement.

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What set off the incident is unclear.

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The zoo's elephant matriarch, Connie, died last week, according to the zoo website.

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I'm going to hazard a guess that that last sentence may have something to do with it. So sad that we can't seem to let these beautiful creatures roam free.

[xfundy]

1. There is no reason for zoos. They are jails.

With cameras and video, we can experience the animals up close and personal in their native habitats without having to watch them penned up with no hope of freedom. Insisting on being physically there so we can watch what have become pointless lives thanks to captivity is not only selfish, it's amazingly cruel.