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Zoo female keeper critical, crushed by elephant
A female keeper suffers life-threating injuries after being pinned against a bollard by an elephant at Sydney's Taronga Zoo.
A young Mr Shuffles: vets had mistakenly thought he had died inside his mother's womb.
Senior elephant keeper Lucy Melo was crushed by a two-and-a-half-year-old male Asian elephant called Pathi Harn, nicknamed Mr Shuffles. The incident happened inside the elephant barn.
According to Sky News, the elephant, born in 2010, was described as a miracle because vets had mistakenly thought he had died inside his mother's womb.
An ambulance spokeswoman told reporters that emergency services were called to the elephant enclosure and discovered a woman unconscious and not breathing, with multiple injuries.
"We had a report that a female in her 40s had been injured by an elephant," the spokeswoman said.
"She had critical injuries, multiple injuries. The patient was unconscious and had stopped breathing."
A zoo spokesman said Melo 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."
An investigation is currently underway to see what may have prompted the young elephant's reaction.
