An Elephant Escapes Circus and Wanders In The Streets Of Montana!
The residents of a Montana city witnessed an extraordinary event when a circus elephant escaped from its enclosure and walked down a busy street. On the 16th of April, a video circulating on social media captured the elephant walking down the middle of the road amid traffic in a southwest Montana city.
Eventually, the elephant’s trainers managed to calm her down. She was secured and returned safely. Let’s dive into this incident that happened shocking the whole of Montana City.
How did the Elephant escape?
The elephant, fondly named Viola, was actually in town as part of the Jordan World Circus. According to the venue’s manager, Bill Melvin, her handlers were bathing her outside the Civic Center. A car backfired and startled her to leave the premises.
She bolted away but paused after covering just a short distance, stopping to munch on some grass in a neighbor’s yard. The chase lasted about 10 minutes, with no injuries reported, and the 58-year-old elephant was safely returned to her circus companions.
“The circus responded professionally, with a calm and experienced trainer swiftly bringing the elephant back.”
Bill Melvin (Venue Manager)
Despite the brief escape, the circus’s schedule proceeded unaffected. Both the 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. shows are reportedly going ahead smoothly.
Concerns of Animal Advocacy Groups Regarding This Escape?
Animal welfare organizations PETA and PAWS issued individual statements noting previous escapes by Viola from the circus. PETA accused Carson & Barnes, the supplier of elephants to the Jordan World Circus, of subjecting them to demanding routines and cited over 100 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act.
CBS News contacted both circuses for their response. However, both circus groups did not provide an immediate response to the request for comment.
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