Tom Packs Elephants

The Tom Packs Elephants were considered the best trained elephant act of its time. Trained by elephant master Mac MacDonald, they represented the epitome of class and skill throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s. Originally trained as a group of five elephants for the Tom Packs Circus, four of the animals represent part of a larger group imported together in 1948. Another was added during the training period; several years later an elephant was replaced for medical reasons. The focus here is on the Tom Packs group, but will address in some detail their original shipmates as well.

African Elephants of Carson & Barnes Circus

The Carson and Barnes Circus, more famously known for its large herd of Asian elephants in the 1970s and 1980s, also featured numerous African elephants in their wild animal menagerie - 7 total it seems, acquired in three different groups.

Carson & Barnes Circus 1980s
Courtesy of B. Cline, Buckles Blog

Toronto Zoo Elephant Transfer

From "The Toronto Zoo Elephant Keepers" on Facebook:

One subject that keeps coming up when it comes to the relocation of the Toronto Zoo elephants is finances. There are several figures that continue to emerge in an attempt to sway both public opinion and the opinion of city council. Here is a brief outline of where one of these figures was acquired, and some additional figures not yet made public.

"Charcoal drawing on silk - copied from a photo of Thika and Iringa"
Courtesy of Ann Walsh at The Toronto Zoo Elephant Keepers on Facebook

"Knoxville Zoo worker dies after elephant pushes her into stall"

By Lydia X. McCoy
Knoxville News Sentinel
Posted January 14, 2011 at 6:49 p.m., updated January 15, 2011 at 9:29 a.m.

"Stephanie James loved animals - whether it was the horses she used to take care of as a child, her dog she rescued from being euthanized or the elephants that she cared for daily at the Knoxville Zoo.

"That was her life," her father, Ron James, said by telephone Friday evening. "It was just her goal in life to take care of animals and be around them."

On Friday, Stephanie James, 33, was killed when one of the elephants she was working with pushed her into a stall. James, who had worked at the zoo for two years, died as a result of internal injuries after being rushed to the University of Tennessee Medical Center."

>> http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/jan/14/knoxville-zoo-elephant-keeper-injured/

Ryan and Edie, October 2009.

For Additional "ShowMe Elephants" Articles:
>> Knoxville Zoo