Why Did Tyke the Elephant Have to Die?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ย. 2024
- The story of the African circus elephant that changed my life- and the lives of hundreds of other wild animals in performance captivity.
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PRODUCTION CREDITS
Mortician and Writer: Caitlin Doughty
Producer and Writer: Louise Hung (@LouiseHung1)
Editor & Graphics: Timothy Meier
Production Coordinator: Lauren Ronaghan
Thumbnail: Landis Blair (@LandisBlair)
SELECTED SOURCES/FURTHER READING
Fear of the Animal Planet: The Hidden History of Animal Resistance
Hribal, Jason. Counterpunch. Petrolia, CA. 2011.
Tyke Elephant Outlaw (documentary)- Stray Dog Pictures. Jumping Dog Productions.
tykeelephantout...
"COLUMN ONE : Elephants Pose Giant Dangers : Pachyderm attacks are on the rise, creating king-size problems for zoos and circuses. Some believe the intelligent mammals are rebelling against inhumane treatment."
www.latimes.co...
"Settlement Over Elephants' TB Deaths Costs Cuneo"
www.chicagotri...
"Activists Fault Cuneo for Elephant"
www.chicagotri...
"USDA Seizes Circus Elephants"
www.washington...
"Shots killing elephant echo across a decade"
archives.starb...
"‘When They Fight Back’: A cinematic archive of animal resistance and world wars"
www.cambridge....
"Elephants and the Circus"
www.counterpun...
"Elephant Deaths Draw Spotlights' Glare"
www.latimes.co...
"Circus Incidents
Attacks, Abuse and Property Damage
The Humane Society of the United States"
www.humanesoci...
"The Infected Elephant in the Room"
slate.com/tech...
"Tuberculosis infects herd of circus elephants"
www.tampabay.c...
She didn’t go “crazy”.
She went “rational”
She realized she was bigger and stronger and that she deserved to not be abused.
Given their treatment, it is a wonder that the elephants didn't all do what Tyke did. I can't muster even a drop of sympathy for the trainer. He got what he deserved. Is saddens my greatly that Tyke had to be killed, though I don't think there was any other way to handle the situation at that point.
@@avuhwee Nor would the police have proper training to use a tranqulizer dart. If not done right, it could have not been effective and stressed poor Tyke more, causing more mayhem and suffering. I just wish someone would have been there who knew how/where to shoot to instruct the officers to do it in the quickest way possible, and of course that she wasn't pushed to this point to begin with. I remember talking to a vet on a talk about transporting horses, and someone asked in the unfortunate event of an accident with a trailer and a large number of greviously injured animals what would be the vets vourse of action among methods to euthanize multiple animals quickly. They replied that they would prefer to instruct the police on how to properly use their firearm to euthanise (a method acceptable by AVMA standards), rather than carry a captive bolt gun or attempt to use euthanasia solution. Granted, elephants are much bigger than horses, but perhaps it would have helped the end of suffering come quicker for Tyke than the tragedy that happened. 87 bullets is not how anything deserves to die.
@@avuhwee Yes. A shot on the correct place on the forehead will put a horse out of its misery instantly. Broken legs are a huge gamble with horses because in the lower leg, the majority of the blood supply tricked through the bone itself. Also horses cannot lay down for long.
In 1990 when Alydar, an exceptional thoroughbred sire, broke his leg in “suspicious” circumstances, they repaired the break the following morning. The next day, when trying to get up, he fell and shattered his femur. He was euthanized within minutes.
Nureyev, another famous racehorse, broke his leg in his paddock. He was so smart that they built him his own small recovery barn with 24/7 care. When he wanted to lay down while in his sling, he would stare at his caretaker and drop his head. That meant “I’m tired of standing; can I lay down for a while?” He went on to live another 10 plus years!
So it happens both ways…….
@@russlehman2070 Sedate the animal and bring it to a sanctuary.
No animal “has” to be killed.
This, don't mess with an elephant. Anyone with a bit of sense should know this.
So basically, Tyke was captured as a baby, tortured until she rebelled, killed the person who was absolutely horrible to her, and yet news media made the elephant villan of the story. Exactly what is wrong with our society is shown here
Yup. Talk about epic victim blaming.
Only 8 US states have banned animal performers, it's horrifying to me. In my country (the UK), all devolved nations have banned circus performers except Northern Ireland, and that's because their equivalent of congress/senate has refused to pass any laws for 4 of the last 6 years.
Well said.
Well the truth was being told by one guy who had said she did this before out of abuse but much like now, facts are hidden beneath spin stories. I think once the SPCA got wind of it, they let more of the truth be known.
it's kind of like America. it literally makes its own worst enemies.
People who commit animal abuse are some of the worst people in the world. Thank you for this documentary.
and people that support animal abuse. going to Seaworld or going to Zoos for example.
Thanks for being vegan.
@@csp.9203 You don't need to go full vegan. I NEED some animal proteine due to 30 years of an eating disorder. So maybe 1 chicken breast every 3 - 6 months and lean beef maybe 2 times a year ( only in a soup my mom makes, from no one else , no 5 star restaurant ever )
And an egg every 2 months if I sum it up.
And no I never ate a burger in my life.
Nor chicken nuggets or whatever crushed up mashed together. yikes.
If everyone wouldn't be so gluttenous , there would be no need for huge farms.
pretty much any serial killer started out that way.
@@MrBibi86seaworld is fucking gross !!!!
Tyke looking into the camera, blood dripping down her face, I can see her grief. It’s genuinely harrowing footage seeing her there, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget it.
Me either. I felt exactly the same emotions.
I don't put human emotions on other animals ( we are animals to of course ) but I respect that other species are well able to convey emotion.
I'm ashamed to be human sometimes
Yeah, her eyes made me cry. I wouldn't even call it grief. There was some closure in there, some sense of it's finally over or maybe a cry for help and comfort. Apes might be the closest related to humans by genetics, but I bet elephants are the closest in emotion.
@sarahsander785 Yeah that part made me cry too. 😞 My heart hurts for Tyke.
😢
Yeah, I almost cried. It’s heartbreaking..
When you hit us with “she died as she’s lived, bleeding alone and afraid.” That’s when the water works hit me
Yeah I’m 100% sobbing
Yeah,, elephants are extremely intelligent and Caitlin is right that we shouldn't anthromorphise them,, however they don't have to have a name to be respected as fellow beings .. it just hit me watching the absolutely surreal scene of an elephant with a show star on her forehead,, tossing her abusers aside and even kneeling on them just to make sure they don't get up,, that the elephant was actually showing more common sense and intelligence than any of the people who were stupid enough to think that they could control a four and a half ton elephant... Like trying to stop a runaway Caterpillar D9 bulldozer... We are now learning, although most people don't realize it how the capitalist culture of dog eat dog is creating serial killers and other assorted maniacs at an ever-increasing rate,, and even people who should know better will blame ONLY the antisocial Maniacs in society without realizing how they are being bred by the very system that claims to be orchestrating society...
Me too honestly
😢 seen pictures of those elephants tied up and rocking back and forth. Oh my god- so terrible!
Agreed!! I was sobbing quietly as to not let my son and husband know…
I remember when my dad heard about this poor elephant's story. His reaction was "You have got to be out of your mind to abuse an animal that large and intelligent. Elephants never forget. Poor elephant had enough." Dad was a big animal lover. Rest in freedom Tyke.
sounds just like my dad, he loves elephants
Sounds like a great Dad.
Yes, our abuse of animals to control them, especially that large, shows just how arrogant humans can be.
@@moniqueduval6441 he was a great Dad, and an animal lover. My mom loved elephants and refused to go to circuses afterwards.
Elephants, whales... LET THEM GO!! (Go somewhere where they can live in as natural as life as possible for the remainder of their lives in peace.)
Elephants also remember their friends. A keeper who cared for the only elephant at a small zoo for decades, when it was decided to send her to a sanctuary. He got emotional when relating how he got to take the chains off her leg. When he visited the sanctuary, the elephant ran to him joyously to greet him.
💕🥰💕 Thank you for this, since this story is so sad. It took me a few days to be up to this
I think I saw the documentary piece that you are referring to here. It was very moving. There are so many stories like this, about elephants. Humans are doing so much harm to this species that they are expected to be extinct in a very short time. Absolutely, incomprehensibly tragic and avoidable. 😠
@@livingitup9647 There was a more recent story about the death of a man who cared for elephants in the wild. If I recall, as he lay dying in his room, a herd of known elephants came out of the jungle, gathering close to the house. They hadn't been there in years, but somehow knew their friend was breathing his last, and seemed to want to say goodbye. They later turned around, heading back into the jungle.
My local zoo had 2 elephants for a long time, and they decided to send them to a place where they would be part of a larger colony, and they also didn't have to go indoors in the winter like they did here. Some people protested, but c'mon, put them where they belong if they can't live in the wild.
The elephant in the Monroe, LA zoo was retired to an animal sanctuary. When she got there, she recognized another elephant she was raised with and hadn’t seen in years. Elephants never forget is a true saying.
I admire the kindness of the people of Hawaii to memorialize Tyke instead of demonizing her. It's amazing that people could see she was a fellow victim...
Many used her as a motivation to ban this type of show and it did in hawaii
I hate that they described her as having a "bad attitude". She didn't have a "bad attitude". She was a victim of abuse, standing up for herself the way that wild animals do. The only humans I feel bad for in this situation are the children who had to witness this.
Sadly we are always doing this to animals. Saying they are “bad” or did something “wrong”. Animals are neither good nor bad. They do no right and no wrong. Animals simply are. They react to the world around them and rely on their instincts to survive. Trainers will insist an animal is “difficult” if they won’t learn or obey the exact way we want them to, but really they are not being difficult. They’re simply not wanting to do those things if they see no reason to.
This is why positive reinforcement works so well on even wild animals. Because the animal is getting something pleasant or tasty for a behavior, they will want to do that behavior more because they know something good follows. Most animals, even betta fish or sea monkies, can be trained to do things when rewarded.
@@byuftbl I'm glad we're living in a time where animal intelligence is finally starting to be understood and respected. It only makes sense that their minds are going to work differently from ours. Only once we make an effort to understand them can we start to work with them.
We need to recognize when we do this to our own kind as well…
That's why I'm suspicious of people who say that an animal or person they see as inferior to them as having a bad attitude. It's a phrases abusers and bad bosses love to use.
@@byuftbl I personally believe that most of the time when a person is, for example, bit by a dog, that the bite did not “come out of nowhere” as some would claim. The dog is almost always signaling for the human to back off with body language, and the human is almost always cornering or scaring the dog in some way (even if they don’t mean to). I don’t say this to blame anyone who has been hurt by an animal, but as beings with self awareness it’s our duty to learn how to respect animals instead of expecting them to understand our whims.
PS: in grade school I trained my betta fish Fred to swim through a hoop for a science project by giving him food after he swam through it :) just mentioning since you said even betta fish can be trained.
Rest in peace Topsy, Mary, Black Diamond, Tyke and all of the other animals that humans have subjected to cruelty.
Animals deserve so much more than what they so often get.🖤🖤🖤
💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔
...and the billions of animals, who end up on our plates & as clothes on the daily 😭💔
@@biancat.1873 so go vegan basically?
@@nathandei1674 Yes, please - for the animals :D
I'm from India and was used to seeing huge elephants casually walking on the streets where I grew up. Of course, now after the city has grown, they no longer wander around. I used to feed them bananas, apples, corn, watermelons and other fruits. They used to love it and play with me and other children. We used to get their blessings. They had a unique way of touching the head or rubbing their trunks against our arms to show gratitude. Feeding them was one of my favourite things to do. She must have been fed up. That ankush is used to poke them behind the ears till they bleed into submission. It is horrific to see. They use it in circuses usually. They make animals do pointless, stupid things. Elephants are very intelligent beings, capable of compassion and kindness. I feel so bad for her. I've adopted an orphan elephant in Kenya and help to sponsor his milk supply for 1 year. His name is Roho and he was just 4 months old when he was rescued after his mom was killed by poachers. I visited the place in Nairobi where they keep such orphan babies. Why can't humans be kinder to animals who do nothing to us.... there was no need to snatch her away from her mother. What a ruthless thing to do!
It goes to show that she almost certainly would have never done that if she wasn't being abused. If she and the other elephants were being treated well and given good food they probably would have never hurt anyone...
What a beautiful post. Thank you for taking time to share your thoughts and memories 🙏💓
That was very informative and beautifully written. Thank You
Thank you for sharing. I also adopted an orphan elephant. Her name is Mzinga and she is beautiful and spirited. I hope one day to go visit the sanctuary.
Thank you. ❤
The poor baby 😭 seeing that footage of poor Tyke as she collapsed, bleeding and in pain against a parked car brought me to tears. Rest peacefully, sweet Tyke - nobody can hurt you anymore ❤
Yeah. At least she has the Rainbow Bridge/Animal Heaven to chill out in. Maybe some family members will be with her, along with all the other poached elephants in history.
Thank you. 🎉🎉🎉😢
Tyke did not “attack her trainer,” she killed her abuser. 😪💔
How many of us would have done the same, given the opportunity. Apparently, a lot of "elder abuse" is perpetrated by their grown up children out of revenge for the abuse they suffered. (OK, I'm anthropomorphizing the behavior of an intelligent animal after a lifetime of abuse).
good riddance.
Amen!!
Yeah, I absolutely hate the comments in the news (or from the owner etc) about how this is out of the blue, and for no reason, and unprovoked. Like, this animal is fighting back, she's not attacking, she's defending herself. Rightfully so.
To quote Casual Geographic: "An Animal, is gonna Animal."
The second you showed and mentioned the two specific people whom Tyke flung around and crushed I immediately knew those two were her abusers. Elephants are highly self aware, have similar emotions to ours and have quite the memory; she never forgot those two and gave as good as she got. Rest in power, Tyke.
I’ve watched enough Casual Geographic to know that elephants do not forgive disrespect or those that disrespected them.
Are you vegan ?
@@peggedyourdad9560 Yes. An elephant will co-sign your obituary.
For context, people in the Boomer generation were taught by "experts", ie, academia through colleges and universities, that animals were automatons. Animals were not self-aware, did not possess a soul and did not have feelings. That goes a long way to explaining why these circus folks treated the animals in this way.
I'm not excusing their abusive behavior one bit. The prevailing "science" at the time firmly and with authority that animals were things, not separate, unique individuals as we see them today. I'm adding blame to this "authority" as well.
Today there is very little doubt in anyone that animals have feelings, are self aware and are unique souls having an experience.
@@oddvegan9797 find a personality
As a child in the 90's I asked my dad to ride the elephant at the local fair and my dad said absolutely not. Sat me down and explained you should NEVER ride something with a mind of its own because you don't know what it's been through. He always mentioned this was why but I didn't know the full details until today... While I honestly never questioned it before I am glad this was instilled early.
I understand why he’d do that. That’s a legitimate concern/point of view. Then, I think of the time before motorized vehicles, horses were a main mode of transportation, whether ridden on or pulling some sort of conveyance. Having said that, a person or family using horses for transportation isn’t the same as using animals in some sort of circus performance aren’t the same.
@@davenport7321 And also the horses are often raised alongside the family, so you know how its being treated etc
Your dad sounds like an awesome guy!
Most of us horse people don’t get to raise the animal. But if you respect them and are constantly observing behavior they have some extremely easy to spot tells for anxiety/aggression/depression etc. and just like dogs you commonly find some that you can tell have clearly been abused and will have some very specific triggers that cause bad behaviors.
Horses are amazing animals but the fact is they are not as intelligent as an elephant. They should be cared for as a family member, but the more intelligent the animal, the more dangerous. Just like with my students…the smartest ones cause the absolute most chaos when bored. Not only are these elephants bored and experiencing abuse, they are intelligent enough and intiluitive enough to make some advanced connections. So of course when they snap, they will SNAP.
I truly don’t believe it’s wrong to keep and raise wild animals for conservation purposes in adequate facilities with the most realistic habitat possible, but I do believe that circuses are wrong. And I grew up loving them as a kid. But these animals aren’t meant for captivity and should not be held there unless they cannot be re-released or are there to conserve the species.
@@PetThePeeves The main difference being that horses are domesticated. They're still able to kill a human, sure, but they have been genetically modified to be docile around humans (yes that's what domestication do) while elephants are just tortured into submission, which works, but a lot less than domestication ^^'
The fact that her trainer intervening only caused her to attack more certainly lends credence to Tyke standing up for herself against abusers, because her trainer would be probably the primary one. Elephants are very intelligent creatures and I think it's fair to apply human-esque emotions to Tyke. Tyke refused to be broken and it cost her her life. And I'm gonna add, the part where Caitlin said the trainer was killed, I knee-jerk said out loud, "Good". I don't wish to celebrate a man's death, but with all the warnings he was given and Tyke's previous incidents, this was the trainer's fault and for the sake of animals, I'm okay that he died
As a fellow funeral director, the fact that her stating the date of Cunio’s death followed by the casual look at her nails is DAMNING. No ‘sadly passed away’, no information about his interment, no statement about ‘resting in peace’ or ‘remembered by his loved ones’ or information about where he passed away.
Just ‘he died’.
Damn, Caitlin, I felt that. Bravo.
Thanks for pointing this out. It slid right past me in the horror of everything else but yes, from Caitlyn, it's pretty damning. ✌️🍍
This is the only time I've felt her lose her cool, or have no respect for the dead. Such a powerful moment coming from her. I've been a subscriber for years now and, for me, that look down spoke a million words.
I fucking loved that moment. I saw that and just went OPE
25:25 that’s the timestamp for anyone interested
As a fully aware person, I didn’t need the soft “sadly passed away”. I was able to understand “died” and did not need to go screaming to my “cry room”.
what pains me the most, aside from the abuse Tyke suffered, is thinking about how scared she must’ve been before she died. she probably anticipated a serious beating or worse, and because she couldn’t move anymore, she couldn’t do anything to save herself from it.
my heart breaks for her. i hope she’s at peace
She looks absolutely terrified 💔
My thoughts too, I cried and cried
i agree. part of the reason she “didn’t go down” was probably because of fight-or-flight adrenaline.
they shot her so many times over such a long period, she must have been in horrible pain. this was heartbreaking to see.
This moved me so much that I had to play my flute and compose a song for Tyke and all ill l treated animals. (I'm native american)
I worked with Tia, the elephant from "Water for Elephants" and "Operation Dumbo Drop" let me tell you they DO have a very high sense of self awareness. She actually acted. We spoke to her like any other performer and she really seemed to understand. The was a scene where she was just suppose to run up to the actress and the human actress was suppose to cry and hug Tia. Tia understood the scene and ran up to the human, hugged her together and then wiped the tears from the actresses' eyes and did it 4 times. No one told her to do that, that was her. She would also prank us on set, take our bottles out of our bags and hide it behind her ear, tap our shoulders with her trunk then move to the other side so you couldn't "see" her. She would put her trunk around my neck, like a buddy putting their arm around your shoulder etc. She did what she wanted, when she wanted. She let herself in and out of her trailer, went to craft services and got an apple when she felt like it, etc. She did have a trainer but he basically was just there to make sure she didn't walk too far from set or freak out the neighbors. He didn't have a bull hook or anything, just a pointing stick to point where her "mark" was, basically where to stand. She was not frightened of it either, and often took the stick to scratch her head or behind her ears. There was 1 time I remember she tapped my shoulder like a human and pointed to the sunscreen, she picked up the bottle and handed it to me. My neck was getting sunburned and she saw that and was looking out for me.
Thank you for sharing this, I really needed to read something about a happy well treated elephant
EDIT: Tai the elephant actress (mentioned in original comment), and her herd, has been controlled with a bullhook for her entire life, which is the reason she was moved out of California a decade ago when bullhooks were made illegal in the state. There is video of the owners ABUSING Tai, and even some video of other herd members covered in injuries from the bullhooks and electric shocks. Tai and another elephant died suddenly and mysteriously without much explanation. I do hope more people look into their story.
Yes, it was very touching to interact with them all whether through a movie set or elephant rides but they are NOT in a safe environment.
original: I remember riding Tai or Rosie at the fair as a kid, and seeing the 4 elephants together. She was very gentle and I always wondered what happened to her later. When did you work with her?
Working with animals can be so rewarding!
Wow. I'm so glad that you have a good story to share.
I'm glad to read of an elephant that was treated so kindly.
When my youngest daughter’s preschool went to the circus that was in town they could all ride an elephant. When I went to pick her up they said she didn’t ride the elephant and became visibly upset when it was her turn. I asked her to tell me about it. She said that the elephant looked very sad and it didn’t want to be there. I told her she did the right thing. To this day she gets tears in her eyes when she talks about it. This wasn’t the same elephant but when she saw this had happened she looked at me and said “I told you that they were unhappy”. Out of the mouth of babes.
Knowing how these animals were trained it's no surprise. She was abused and took revenge. I can't say I blame her.
100% Agreed. Stolen, beaten, maybe starved, often alone, in a tiny space. Elephants are extremely social and empathetic animals . They recognise bones of a dead family member years after their death .
Elephants have a good memory!!
Elephants are very emotional and do not forget, the good and bad. 💓
She should have taken out more of her abusers tbh.
Elephants are like crows lol
I remember once as a kid, I was bothering the family dog (you know, testing boundaries, normal kid stuff) and the dog bit me. I ran crying to my mother and the first thing she said was "Well, what did you do to her?". That day I learned that 1) animals deserve respect 2) they aren't an object for our entertainment and 3) if an animal in captivity tries to harm you, domesticated or otherwise, you probably deserve it.
Good on your mom for being responsible!
Good Mom.
They take them out of their matriarchal system and it's surprising this didn't happen more.
yup the exact some thing happened to me when I was a kid, I was pestering the family dog on a hot day and she finally bit me, 100% had it coming, she was otherwise a very gentle dog.
The same thing happened to me too. As a kid I kept provoking the cat on purpose, and when she finally slashed me in the face I ran crying to my mum who gave me no sympathy at all and said "Serves you right". I learned an important lesson that day.
What happened to Tyke is horrible. I remember an elephant in India that killed it's torturer and not being satisfied crashed the funeral and continued it's revenge against it's torturer by attacking the corpse in the casket. Thank God this abuse is no longer allowed and these majestic animals are no longer made to perform. They are so much more intelligent and caring than we try to convince ourselves. Animals are people too. They have social structures and are very family oriented. All animals deserve our protection and respect.
@DonnyGossett-nz8rp They still torture animals - there are more tigers in captivity than in the wild. Look at what they did to Tillicum! I agree with you, "All animals deserve our protection and respect" - but we're a long, long, way - people still get away with torturing people - look how many sex offenders are let go to repeat their crimes - Polly Klass is a good example of our 'justice' system. ("Boys will be boys" is what I've heard all my 68 years). As long as people are allowed to 'harm' it will continue.
An Asian elephant escaped from a circus a few months ago, up in Montana or some place, so amazingly, there are still some that are made to perform, I don't know how that is. It was on the news, and I think another escaped in a nearby state about a month later.
There is the largest or one of the largest elephants ever they keep at a temple somewhere in india and It had killed many people. like 9 or something.
@@jadall77
Elephants do not belong chained in place no matter where it is; they need to be free to roam, they are sentient creatures, intelligent, they value their freedom and they abhor abuse. Elephants suffer much abuse in captivity, and it's wrong.
"We want to conquer animals to conquer our fear that we ourselves are animals"
Very powerful statement, Caitlin. Great video. May Tyke rest in peace
Animals have no potential for evil intentions, only humans have that. The disposition to exploitation for the sake of power and self aggrandizement is not an animal trait, and exists only in the human species.
It's a fear that explains so much! At times I wonder why people develop superiority complexes around animals, I remember that Manifest Destiny mindsets used to be a thing, and realize that people gravitated towards that bs because most people probably had some old insecurities on being considered animals themselves centuries ago.
Poor girl was abused her whole life and then painted as the villain when she fought back. Rest in peace Tyke 💜
I know, Joe Francis and Nash Entertainment (Creators of "Banned from TV" and "World's Most Amazing Videos" respectively) did paint her as a out of control animal when they showed footage of that on their shows/videos
Victims usually are especially when they can't speak for themselves or aren't allowed to.
Tyke driving her weight onto the trainer looked different to her attacking the other handlers. It is hard for me not to believe Tyke decided to take the chance to kill her tormenter/abuser after knocking him down.
Yeah, she was just giving the new groom the whatfor. Maybe, he had been good to her, she just messed around with him, she could have stomped his brains out.
It reminds me of a discussion I once had with a retired welsh coal miner. he told me point blank that the miners did whatever they could to make the pit ponies lives as comfortable as possible, even going so far as to give the horses time off during the summer holidays. because those horses could hold grudges. more than once a cruel miner would hurt a horse only for the horse to engineer a trap for its abuser, and none of the miners would help the man, because they knew he had harmed the horse.
I bet you are right. The story about Black Diamond seeing his abuser in an audience and attacking him is so striking because it drives home the fact that elephants remember and recognise humans who have hurt them, and will take their revenge. You would think trainers would behave better knowing this, and from watching the Tyke documentary it seems clear that they genuinely do know this, but as Caitlin said its all about having complete domination over a creature so much stronger than you. I bet she is right, too, that Tyke realised she was heading for the mother of all beatings if she didn't run.
Yeh it was definitely personal against him - you could see a difference in how she was going for them. You can’t blame her - everyone has a breaking point where they can’t take it anymore. I have no sympathy for that “person”.
Hate to say this about anyone dying but he deserved it. Can't help but him feel like he relished the power he had over such a large and powerful animal, and I really can't blame her for unleashing all the pain and fear he put her through back on to him
After the three incidents she was not 'allowed' to perform SHE WAS FORCED TO PERFORM. Tyke I'm so sorry.
Thank you for covering this.
Yeah, the phrasing would be more accurate as she was still made to perform, rather than she was allowed to, as if she auditioned or something. It's a minor detail, but useful to stress how horrid her treatment was.
@@blakewhite3131
Elephants were always "made to/forced to," the choice was never ever theirs, it's not a minor detail. They've been treated as slaves, literally beaten into submission in "Crush training." Learn about Crush, which is torture-training. The elephant industry is a cruel one, from pulling logs in the forest, to any other form of work. In Nature as a vital Keystone species, they already have their own "jobs," man has no business reassigning them to something else. I've shared details about their being a vital Keystone species in my *_"Do you think animals are unintelligent?"_* playlist *_description._*
As a South African, this made me weep out loud! Tyke was a good girl and didn't deserve to be exploited and abused. No animal does. That poor, poor girl. Rest in hell, Allen Campbell. Sorry, not sorry.
And don't forget her "owner", Cuneo! 😡
I am straight on ugly crying. Its just not fair. I am so mad and frustrated. Poor girl died alone on the streets without any form of love or compassion. I wish I could delete this information from my brain, or just delete the whole situation from he world when we are at it. Just place the poor baby back with her mum in Africa 😣
Yes! “Rest in Hell, Allen Campbell” I agree
rest in piss he wont be missed
I don't think it matters where we're from, mistreated of animals and their habitat is fundamentally a terrible trait mankind must take out of our equation.
One of the worst things humanity has ever done is assume we're the only ones who feel or think or have emotions.
Not just that, also thinking we're superior and have full control over others.
yes we have a human supremacy complex. our relationship with animals and the ecosystems is completely broken. when did we all stop placing values on other sentient living breathing beings?
We are related by evolution and coming from the same planet. It's rather astounding how easily peeps can fall into the fallacy of thinking we are apart from nature.
I'm not sure I remember the title of the book, it was something like "Animal Minds", and had chapters on ants, archerfish, an African Grey Parrot (Alex), elephants, and other animals. Even without using language the same way we humans do, there is a helluva lot that goes on in an animal's head.
Ironically tho the people who assume that display that they themselves are stunted in those same qualities... They are the ones who are not feeling/thinking/having emotions...
@@sarasteege2265 I will have to try and find that! Thanks for the suggestion. "How to speak whale" is also another amazing book that goes into communication and minds of cetaceans and other animals as well.
25:28 that was the most silent burn in history. The way that she was so indifferent about his death and checking her nails. I too won't lose tears over that waste of space's death.
I literally giggled at that. Most of the rest of this video made me want to cry, but that brief moment was epic.
but he was such an attractive man....inner beauty does shine through doesn't it?
She voiced her disdain in keeping to this saying;
"Speak none but good of the dead."
In other words; John Cuneo jr. is dead, and that is good.
I totally missed that. Thanks for pointing it out.
The swaying of elephants at time stamp 2:15 is a sign of profound emotional stress!
People need to stop forgetting how smart animals are. They're not just mindless creatures, they have feelings, they have intelligence. I feel for Tyke. Did not deserve the treatment she had gotten. RIP Tyke.
Are you vegan?
@@oddvegan9797 no, and one can eat meat and still care about how animals are treated.
@@monkeygirl1894 Yes, of course. One can also consciously rape a woman and care about their rights.
Elephants in particular are SUPER smart. They practically have culture. They hold FUNERALS for their loved ones when they pass. They MOURN. they recognize people. They remember people. Their memory is impecable. I love elephants so much. Tyke knew what she was doing, but it was something she felt she had to do. Which, from her perspective, I can’t blame her. It’s not like she can communicate and ask for help. The only way to get freedom is to fight and escape. :(
Not just "smart", but social. They require and enjoy company of fellow pachaderms, and other self aware mammals, including sympathetic and animal friendly humans.
Seeing Tyke's face during her last moment absolutely shattered me omg. The look in her eyes. I don't think I've cried so violently in a long time.
All these poor animals. They deserved to be cared for & appreciated at a distance, not gawked at while forced to preform against their will.
Me too :( That poor, beautiful creature deserved so much better.
Same
I cried too
Oh my goodness, same. That poor, poor baby.
I cried too.
During my animal control officer training twenty years ago I had to watch undercover footage of a case that the Marin County Humane Society brought against Ringling Brothers in the early 90s. It was the most awful abuse I'd ever seen or considered. I had to turn my eyes away a few times from the live footage in this documentary but I am so grateful that you made it. People need to know.
☹️😭😣 It's only right we know
DUDE I THINK I KNOW ONE OF THOSE UNDERCOVER GUYS. I'll message him and ask if this was the group he was with.
So sad.
One of the most informative/educational videos I’ve ever watched on UTube thank you 💔
@@clarewhite3004if he was one of them, thank him for his service for me.
I am from Hawaii and was on island when Tyke went berserk. She ran out into traffic, metro Honolulu and cops were called on to protect lives. No one, I repeat, NO ONE wanted Tyke to come to such a horrific end. Our people were stunned and traumatized. Since this terrible incident the government of Hawaii forbade all wild animals in captivity acts and it is so to this day. We here in Hawaii mourned Tyke’s passing more than the world knows.
I believe it could’ve been handled differently. She didn’t deserve this.
The most horrifying part of this story is that so many non-domesticated animals are STILL being forced to perform... you'd think it'd be illegal by now. 😢
Sadly, people, especially people in power, are slow to act unless it's in their own living room.
And that the us just banned that kind of acts just in 5 out of 50 states
Dont give them our dollars and it will stop. Its like tourists that go to spain for the bull fights disgusting. The bull can never win it will die either way.
If there are people that want to see this kind of entertainment to this day.
It's illegal where I live, since the early '90s
There are only humans in our circuses
(Canberra, Australia)
My local zoo was given a former circus elephant in 1977 after an altercation with another elephant left her with broken bones. Shirley was the only elephant at the zoo for 22 years before they gave her up to an Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee with much better facilities to care for her. When she got to the sanctuary Shirley was reunited with another elephant Jenny who she had preformed with in the circus nearly 24 years before. Shirley and Jenny were inseparable at the sanctuary, having a relationship likened to one between mother and calf. Shirley lived to be 72 years old and died in 2021. I'm glad her final years were happy and peaceful. They did a documentary about her called "The Urban Elephant: Shirley's Story"
Happy endings are few and far between. Thank you for sharing, I'm off to find The Urban Elephant now. :D
@@nephicus339 It's on youtube. Just search for everything in quotation marks.
Looking at that poor girl's eyes is the hardest, if you really look you can clearly see the confusion underneath the obvious pain and fear. This is an animal that was intelligent enough to ask itself, "Why is this happening to me? Why did you do this to me?"
That was devastating. You can see and feel her pain and fear.
when you look into the eyes of farm animals such cows, pig, chicken, ducks, turkey, goats, sheeps, etc., you will see the same fear and distress. definitely wanting to know why this is happening and why humans are doing this to them. what would you say if livestock can ask you that question - how do we justify killing 80 billion land animals annually worldwide (mainly for food products)
@@ito_tofu5324 Look dude I'm gonna admit there is merit to the point you present. I was raised on and around farms so I am used to animals being killed for meat, you're absolutely not wrong that cows and pigs will show the same fear in their eyes when it is time for them to be slaughtered. It is not a pleasant process. But the key difference is at least the meat IS eaten. This poor elephant was just dumped in a dang landfill like trash when they probably didn't even have to kill her to begin with, they basically killed her out of revenge for the guy she killed, but when it took 80+ dang bullets to kill her, I can't help but wonder if a few tranquilizers would have been better... Anyways tho, I just don't believe it's wrong to kill an animal if you intend to eat it. That's just nature. But if you kill an animal just to enjoy it's suffering, or out of revenge for something it did as a wild animal, esp when the animal is endangered (bc obvs killing an animal for meat is still wrong if the animal's species can't easily replenish itself) then you're being a d-bag. So if I was asked by an animal to justify it, here it is: Because we actually used it, we didn't just wastefully throw it away. Just saying too, my weenie dogs enjoy their bacon just as much as I do, and I even if I wanted to go vegan, as a responsible dog owner I'd still have to provide my dogs with meat. So... It just kinda seems like a "There's no way to really win" situation. You just gotta do your best to do the least damage, bc just by existing something else will suffer one way or another.
Stop that image haunts me 😢😢😢 poor tyke
Yeah, the camera shot into her eye was devastating. I had to pause. 😢
I'm a bit late to the comments, but here's my two cents. I had a anthropology teacher in college who used to be an elephent trainer in the 80s before he decided to quit that career & persue his lifelong passion of anthropology. He met Cambell before the incident with Tyke (I think it was at a convention of some kind, my mind is blanking on the details), but he remembered him even though they'd only talked a few times. Campbell apparently bragged about how he abused the animals under his care & thought it made him cool that the elephants were afraid of him. My teacher said the guy was "nasty piece of work". He teared up when he talked about Tyke, because he felt she was the real victim in that situation.
The trainer had to have done something to trigger her. She was heading out to get him. He wasn't a hero and it is sad that she had to lose her life due to ignorance. Thank you for letting us know about this story.
From the history involved, I would say his presence alone was enough to trigger her.
I agree...that looked personal.
I've heard tales from a retired carny that you do NOT fuck with the elephants. They WILL remember you.
@@mommachupacabra they don't say "an elephant never forgets" for no reason.
A herd of elephants marched 12 hours to the house of Lawrence Anthony after he died - the man who saved them. They stayed there silent for two days. Exactly one year after his death, to the day, the herd marched to his house again.
so it makes sense that they would also remember those that were cruel to them too...
Everyone says Harambe was tragic, but nobody talks about Tyke. This was heartbreaking.
Different time period. I didn't know about Tyke at all because I was a baby when it happened. I knew about Harambe because of the internet and being old enough to be aware.
Harambe was at least kinda understandable, Tyke is just pure tragedy. The poor baby deserved better
Harambe was lucky enough to have people who knew how to euthanise him properly, as unfortunate as it was that it became necessary. Tyke didn't even get that.
@@gremlinfriend6956 Tyke had killed somebody, though, no matter how deserved that death was. Harambe hadn't killed anyone
@@misscoati697 yeah she got shot multiple times and died painfully but at least she was free
As soon as it was mentioned that Tyke realized she was going to be punished and ran away, I knew this was an abuse story. Poor girl. No living being should be treated the way she was. Thanks for another great video, Caitlin.
As soon as I saw "circus elephant" in the thumbnail, I knew it was going to be an animal abuse story and the elephant was going to get shot.
I can't avoid to compare her with my dog. He also misbehaves sometimes and when I call him about it, he tends to stop, walk back and look around knowing he did something wrong. The huge difference is that he never runaway because he never felt that fear. I legitimate cried at that part.
Black diamond is a real one. He saw his old trainer and said it was on sight.
An Elephant Never Forgets
Such a sad story. I wonder if people really understood at the time that Tyke absolutely could have done way more damage if she'd wanted to, even when she lashed out in anger. She could have crushed those men to the point where they were barely recognizably human before anyone could even try to stop her, but she didn't. She wasn't vicious, she was just afraid and desperate and wanted to make them stop hurting her.
And, elephants are social animals...they need to be in a herd with their families...NOT in a zoo or the circus, but in an elephant sanctuary.
You’ve made a good point
Outstanding. Thank you so much. My daughter as a small child trapped her knee in a vertical fence watching some elephants just walking and feeding. The elephant calmly walked over and used trunk to gently ease my girls trapped knee out. True story. Many witnesses. Stunning and beautiful creatures.
How sweet!
Some animals seem to understand that young creatures sometimes get themselves into situations where they need some help.
@@linabasilisk1955 to be fair, elephant babies do get themselves stuck in situations like that quite often 😅
In their home territory, behavioral scientists have been watching wild elephants, and have come to some conclusion that they tend to think humans are actually cute, similar to the way we think puppies and kittens are cute... There are certain groups of people with particular patterns and designs and color motifs, that avoid harassing the elephants and even help, leaving signs for food and water (that elephants CAN decipher), among other things, and the elephants DO remember them... Wearing similar clothes and hats, and singing their particular songs can disengage an elephant in the territory from aggressive posturing, with near stunning reliability just "by association".
In fact... Years after a civil war in Africa (Can't recall the country specifically, sorry) there was a shocking increase in rampages and elephants "acting violent and crazy"... Turns out that during the war, poaching for ivory was part of the war-funding operations (on both sides) and it had practically wiped out the Adult Male population. Dubiously, the violent and crazy activities of the elephants overwhelmingly involved young males coming to maturity, meaning they'd been born during the war or were VERY young at the time. With the introduction of imported Adult Males, the rampages diminished over months and were nearly non-existent in the following year or two.
Like probably 99% of animals on the planet, including ourselves, elephants are piss poorly understood... AND for the "anthropomorphosizing" warning... How do you suppose animals have instincts and behavioral patterns? It's biochemistry that we HAVE been mapping and cataloguing, from pheromones to testosterone and estrogen determining sexual maturity, aggression, and the estrus cycle (or menses, depending on species)... Most of our own emotional bases are biochemical markers and "neurotransmitters"...
The dubious "difference" between us (humans) and other animals, regardless of their general processing powers or "intelligence" perceived, is our "metacognition". We're the only animal that we know of that ever looked around at what we were doing and asked "What the f*ck is the point of all this sh*t???"
AND we've sunk ever after into an ever deepening hole of questions, half-truths, and larger misunderstandings EVER SINCE. ;o)
@@gnarthdarkanen7464 I came here to say all this, but you said it way better. ❤
I feel so much rage for Tyke and her story. I will NEVER feel bad for Allen. He got what he deserved, and I hope he felt every bone snap and shatter inside his body.
Amen. This story has me ugly crying for all the pain and suffering Tyke and every animal in similar circumstances has and is going through.
I wish people would just stop exploiting the lives of others - animal or human.
Animal abuse is awful and never okay, but it’s also not okay to hope that another human being suffers…
the pain in her eyes... the utter fear in her eyes as she fell... may he suffer for an eternity and into the next
@@AngelineProductions Cry about it!
@@AngelineProductions tbh if you have a reputation for abusing animals it’s fair game
The human record of animal abuse is beyond belief. My heart breaks for Tyke and every other victim of such abuse.
I'm sad for Tyke and weirdly proud of her... she tried to stand up to the cruelty in the only way she understood. But it's heartbreaking to see an animal known for its loyalty and community being left to run alone in a confused attempt to escape. Poor thing.
She was trying to leave. They should’ve let her.
@@offbranddorito9668... About the only way to do that would have been for someone to throw a chain around her neck, and then attach it to a tank... Then if she wanted to take off,, the tank could just trundle along behind her and make sure she went the right way... Unfortunately there wasn't one available and the maneuver has undoubtedly never been tried,, however anything would have been better than that spectacle of just gunning down the poor girl right in the street... I was surprised at Caitlin saying that she still suffers from the horror of the situation,, and I'm glad she felt that her audience would understand why she wanted to deal with it with some company...
@@micnorton9487idk if a tank works tbh, as in acting as a lead lol
I read more about the case, this wasn’t in the video:) but in the past, when Tyke had made escape attempts, trainers that she had a good relationship with were able to calm her down and take her back “home” willingly.
She REALLY hated the trainer she killed 😬 that was almost certainly a factor for her.
It somewhat reminds me of the Doctor Who episode with the T-Rex. The Doctor crying out that she was frightened and alone.
Caitlin, thank you, THANK YOU on behalf of our Arte for Elephants community for highlighting the cruel and unethical treatment elephants throughout the world endure in captivity. Too often the worst abuse comes from our desire to be close to elephants, and our professed "love" for the animals in question. Education is 99% of the solution and as an elephant rescuer, we are extremely grateful for your shining the spotlight of your platform on a situation that continues to this day.
How does someone go about becoming an elephant rescuer? I would love to spend all day with an elephant
@@ghin780 Hi Ghin, our business Arte for Elephants and AFE Adventures partners with ethical sanctuaries around the world to raise funds to get elephants moved from exploitative conditions (circuses, riding camps, logging camps and substandard zoos) to accredited sanctuaries around the world. There are many wonderful, ethical places that desperately need support, recognition and to help spread awareness. Many people don't realize that elephant riding is really painful and unethical (elephants need to be broken and beaten to allow people to sit on their backs, because they are not designed to be weight bearing). My suggestion is to check out ethical sanctuaries around the world. Some don't allow visits, but some do (also, beware of "fake" sanctuaries, that pretend to be good for elephants but still force performances and use bull hooks). Some amazing, ethical sanctuaries include: Elephant Nature Park (Thailand) Wildlife SOS (India) Performing Animals Welfare Society (USA) Elephant Haven (France). Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (Nairobi) Global Sanctuary for Elephants (Brazil) Some don"t allow visitors except for special events. You'd need to do research. We host volunteer retreats several times a year .I won't post a link here because this post is too important to plug our business specifically- but you can search and find AFE Adventures.
thanks for what you do.
This really made me burst into tears. Such a beautiful creature, forced to perform, beaten, abused… to be shot over 80 times after she simply just had enough. My heart goes out to her. Elephants are so intelligent, they are amazing. When I saw her running and she honestly had no where to go, no where to hide, it’s heart breaking. She was just looking for a place to escape and you could feel the fear coming off her. She should’ve never been forced to perform and taken from her family, just as none of them should. This was a great documentary, really made us all aware of how bad this is. Even still.
Yes, the fact that she had absolutely nowhere to run to really bothered me.
I agree with you 100%. Seeing her run for her life felt like how I would feel if I was kidnapped as a child and forced into being a bonded labour for life. I, too, would hurt my kidnappers and tourturers and make a run for it. Anywhere. Just run. I could feel her nervousness to get away as fast as possible. Maybe she was searching for a forest to escape into.... such a sad life. Being snatched from her loving mom, taken to an alien world, tortured, starved and forced to perform for people. And for what? To throw a stupid ball and stand on hind legs? I'm so ashamed of the human race sometimes. Humans are capable of the lowest of lows. You've put my feelings exactly in words.
The heart of mankind is very dark. 😡
Me too 😢
Mannn, same I rarely get this emotional but the video of them shooting her really bothered me
That footage was absolutely heartbreaking, oh my god I can’t imagine her pain. How scared she must have been…
This made me cry. Tyke was stolen from her mother and family, taken from the only home she knew for such a short time. Then she was horribly abused, or better put tortured, for the amusement of humans. And to make a few humans extremely rich. And people wonder why she snapped, I probably would have too. This was a heartbreaking, yet great video. I live in Kingsport, where Mary the elephant was killed. You would think, after all this time, and so many lives, humans would understand that elephants belong in the wild, not as abused entertainers.
That's not even the worst part. Not only did those poor last 16 elephants prob compromise a good chunk of the entire population, but that TB outbreak probably further endangered the already endangered population. I also wouldn't be surprised if this is where a LOT of Siberian tiger inbreeding originated.
Elites = Humans, Humans = Elephants... It is luck of the draw as to which trainers are in charge...
Oof same dude... I can't...
I was a kid when this happened, and my family used to go to circuses, we did the 'ride the elephant' thing. My mom told me one day that she looked at the poor elephant's eyes and said she could never participate in that again, that she was ashamed that we'd done it at all, but when you know better, you do better/
Thank you for all of the work you do and all of the stories you share. You have touched and helped so many people understand some of the most difficult, emotionally challenging subjects with compassion and a good touch of humour.
We have an elephant in our zoo here. Over my thirry-something years I watched her environment adapt as they got better at understanding her needs. Sad that it took so long, but as she's near the end of her life expectancy, specialists say it's way too risky to move her to a sanctuary and that she almost assuredly wouldn't survive the trip.
So now she gets to do what she wants, when she wants. She may or may not show up for talks about her. She's attended to carefully and can sometimes be seen walking around the back areas of the zoo with a gaggle of humans in tow because she wanted to go for a walk. I wish she could go to a sanctuary, but it's comforting to know that they're doing the best they can for her and are constantly updating what that is.
I looked into a gorilla’s eyes once - and I no longer go to zoos. It was the cherry on the cake of a long, tearful day. Polar bears neurotically swimming in circles. Baboons raping a cage-mate. A gorilla clearly depressed. I was done.
@@dddilworth12 The moment I KNEW animals are the same as us with thoughts, feelings and a soul was when I locked eyes with a gorilla at the zoo. These are just beings like us having a physical experience. Who are we to change that wild, free experience they should be having?
@@manaash4316 Is this elephant named Lucy, by chance?
I have no doubt she could have been moved to sanctuary years ago when she was healthier but officials didn't want to lose out on the money she generated. Now that she is elderly and in poor health, she cannot be safely moved.
I'm still not in any way impressed with her care. An elephant has absolutely no business being that far north.
@@dddilworth12 What kind of roadside zoo did you go to? That is in no way the norm for accredited, legitimate zoos.
And in the moment we needed her, the Queen has returned. ☠️🖤
I just love the part where Tyke runs. It’s sweet because it’s probably the first time she experienced it. I’m literally in tears right now
The scene with them shooting her down brought tears to my eyes. Poor creature. She didn't deserve any of that.
She killed people though? She had to be stopped before anyone else was injured or killed.
@@daiikxi Yeah,, but what kind of idiot outfit has elephants on hand without an expert with a rifle with a few tranquilizer darts? That's what I can't figure out,, but even that's beyond the fact that people shouldn't be kidnapping wild animals to perform under threat of torture for a commercial exhibition... There've been problems with lions and tigers and bears before,, even with chimpanzees who will attack a person who grins at them... True Tyke k*lled one guy and attacked another but the injuries after that were from panic,, and I wasn't there and wasn't in charge of the authorities response however, I would have thought it could have been done a little more sympathetically... In the old days it was learned that to collar a bull, you had about 10 cowboys each sling a lasso around its neck, and then pile on more cowboys on every rope until the bull was brought under control... Thinking about it about the only thing that could collar a four and a half ton elephant would be a tank with a cable or chain lasso attached to its gun barrel,, and since there wasn't one available in downtown Honolulu at the time I can't fault the authorities for their kind of brutal reaction...
@@daiikxi She killed one person and he deserved it
Nah, that was the best part. She deserved to die and it was hilarious. If anything she didn’t suffer enough.
@@VidelxSpopovich Get outta here, troll
Tyke was only about 20 years old if I did the math right.
Imagine being taken before you were 7 by aliens and forced to wear stupid clothes to perform, only to be given the whip instead of a gentle pet with praise. For your entire life, all you know is fear, pain, and anger. You may forget what your family looks like, fear where you're to go next, and mourn the loss of friends you're enslaved with. Then, one day, you see a chance for revenge and freedom. The one person who you feared most made a mistake, and you took out all of the fear and rage they fed you since you were taken from your family. And as soon as you're free, you're seen as the monster and not your captors.
You don't get to live to find peace and love. You don't live to see how there is good in the alien species as they tell the stories of your kidnapping, of the abuse, and the stories of your companions who were given the same cards in life.
You don't get to live to see the change for the better that you helped ignite.
Thank you🙏💜
This is a comment with lots of likes so I wanna drop this here so the makers of the Ask a Mortician Channel could see it: Next time you talk about a case like this, I BEG YOU, to include the cultural differences of this.
Shit like this is legal but not everywhere. The EU banned the use of Megafauna in circuses and people are still complaining about it, even though this is a great decision. The US NEEDS TO STOP allowing RANDOM PEOPLE WITH NO QUALIFICATIONS owning LARGE WILD ANIMALS.
Sorry I just wanted to state this. Hope we can next time also get a conclusion, like, what the law states now, what petitions we can sign for this to stop and where we can head next, because if we don't get that, people are just gonna watch this content and then nod along and watch a different youtube video, moving on, without utilizing their sadness and outrage to stop this shit once and for all. I bet there are animal rights organisations fighting against this and I bet there are petitions online and I feel like its important to round videos like this up with stuff like this, so we can redirect emotions into a helpful cause at the end. And I also feel like its the responsibility of the ASK A MORTICIANs team, to link us resources so we arent left alone with our anger at this and can actually feel like we are at least able to do something.
I PERSONALLY WOULD IMMEDIATELY SIGN EVERYTHING THAT GETS PEOPLE LIKE CUNEO BANNED FROM EVER OWNING ANY ANIMAL EVER AGAIN. This man didn't even face legal consequences.
Some people are into that humans are weird.
The news article shown at 13:40 says Tyke was only 21 years old. 💔
@@eloylie Yep, circuses don't need megafauna to be amazing. Cirque du Soleil is an amazing human-centric circus, and other circuses can do more than enough with just their normal acrobats, clowns, other performers, and domesticated animals.
When I saw Tyke literally throw the man in the blue suit to the ground and crush him, I knew immediately that he had done something to her to make her do what she did to him and the other guy. Everyone who attended the circus that day witnessed something truly horrific and traumatic. While we may never know exactly what caused her to snap and rampage, all the abuse she suffered since she was a baby certainly played a role in what happened. R.I.P Tyke
At 7:51 you can see a lot of the elephants are swaying side to side. If I remember right that is a self soothing type action that they do when they’re stressed, anxious and when they don’t have enough enrichment to exhaust all their pent up energy. Kinda like how some people bounce their legs and fidget when they’ve sat in one place for too long or as an anxiety habit.
The fact almost all of those elephants are swaying like that really tells me that they weren’t cared for properly at all and it’s no wonder one of them finally snapped. Those poor animals are one of the most social and intelligent animals in the world and to force them to stand in one place with no enrichment and not allow them to be social amongst each other is a lifetime of absolute daily torture to them.
Horses do it too. Other animals run along one fence again and again and again.....
Horses do the same thing, we call it weaving. And yeah... If an animal sways to entertain or soothe themselves there's something seriously wrong with their care...
I do the same swaying thing thanks to PTSD. Poor Tyke...😢
This reminds me of videos I've seen of children and mentally ill people living in old style "care facilities". They would rock back and forth and moan because that's the only freedoms left to them. Super sad to see.
@@restrictedmilk OOF EXACTLY THIS 😤 💯☝️☝️☝️
They're not killed for being wild animals, they're killed for being intelligent animals that won't be enslaved. They've done the same thing to humans who were viewed as wild animals. Kudos to the elephants for fighting back, I wish they never had had to suffer like that 😔💔
Tyke wasn’t a bad girl! She was an abused girl, that had enough. RIP Tyke 💔 Thank you for this video, Caitlin! 💛💛💛
Can't believe my country, usually portrayed by US media as "lesser" or somehow "stupider", banned animal acts in circuses before the US did, it really makes me think about what exactly they see as "better"
I don't know what country you're from, but culturally, the US is generally two things: extremely individualist and consumerist.
People here often value their enjoyment and freedom above all else, and view any sort of restriction as an attack on this.
Makes me think of how everyone reacted to Dumbo's mom going after that kid when he mocked Dumbo. Her getting locked up is one of the saddest parts of the movie for me.
That's true. I cried. So sad to learn about circus animals that way.
It's why I can't _watch_ that movie.
Dumbo was made in 1941 but people never cared enough to stop the mistreatment 😢
I just went and rewatched that scene. Both Dumbo and his mom do that rocking motion shown in this documentary when they are seperated. I think real research went into Dumbo, but everyone just thought it was a fictional abusive circus, not realizing it’s based on the majority of circus treatment
When I was a kid Dumbo made me cry. I haven't watched it since.
I love and am totally wowed by elephants. Their size just amazes me.
This story makes me so sad.
That poor girl just had enough of people treating her badly. The only saving grace is that even though she did not have a good death, she is at peace.
Watching Tyke's death absolutely gutted me. You could see the pain and fear in her eyes.
Still crying.
😪😪😪😪😪😪
I was 12 when this happened and after this I protested school field trip to a circus and I remember my mom having to come get me for causing a commotion- my school never attended another animal or circus performance. This story really hit me and I’ll never forget it thank u. I lived in NJ by the way so Tykes story traveled far. Thank u again ❤
Wow good job!
You're so damn cool for that 💖
@@madeofamethysts oh thanks- young disrupter since elementary school that’s me
I remember that it too.....we were going to take some of our disabled clients to the circus and people were protesting. I saw the signs and that was the last time I have ever gone to an animal show. The protestors made me think to myself "why would a lion jump through a ring of fire?" cause that's what they were having the lions and tigers do.
Thankfully, today there are lots of circuses that don't use animals 🌝
Oh my heart breaks for her, her life, her death. This is the most saddening story I’ve ever heard. May she Rest In Peace
Tyke's sacrifice is a large reason why a local elephant in the 90s got to live out the rest of her life in a sanctuary with a companion instead of chained in a small barn, she and elephants like her helped people realize how cruel keeping these beautiful creatures in captivity is ❤
I needed to read this.😢❤
I have lived is Asia (two countries) for over 30 years, In that time I have attempted to rescue many animals, two in particular come to mind one being an elephant and the other an orangutan both were far too young to have been separated from their mothers (mothers shot by illegal loggers in both cases) as they were still reliant on their mothers milk both were raised to adulthood Remember this is in two different countries, when I tried to fight against the logging, these animals were taken from me by government officials, I was told they were going to a sanctuary
Approx 18 months later I and my young son visited a zoo about 50k from our home and guess who we met there caged? That was 'Lady' the orangutan, sadly I was never able to find out the fate of the kindest most gentle giant you could ever hope to meet, we called him 'future', how naive of us
We as humans have a lot to answer for, if not for committing this shit, then for knowing it is happening and doing sweet fuck all to prevent it Sorry for the language but it must be said, Governments and some animal rights organizations simply cannot be trusted to do what is asked of them and a lot of humanity appears to have lost all traces of empathy for our extended family
If tech companies don't love or understand you, you're probably doing something right. Beautiful video.
Well said Meg :)
We love you!!!! ❤❤ Please don't stop posting. TH-cam sucks...
Word
@@majaherold1325 , As I know the term "word" is a southern U.S. based term short for the phrase "Word of God" taken from the Bible. As this is the internet (World wide) your meaning may be something I know nothing of. I guess I am asking how are you using the single word "Word" in this context? An as you may be a Christian you are using it as the "Word of God". In my nation most use that term and have no idea it's true meaning... so if you would be so kind as to share Maja, thanks.
@@Reason1717 In this case it just means "true", like, I'm basically just agreeing with the original commenter. It has nothing to do with god, I'm not religious.
The abuse animals face is truly heartbreaking, Tyke, Topsy, Mary, and Black Diamond all deserved a better life
Telecum as well. The orca the documentary Black Fish used as a subject. It's the exact same story of being torn from his family, being abused, then finally snapping. The only difference is that the trainer who was killed was innocent in this case. Dawn hadn't been working with him for long and many Sea World trainers/entertainers were severely undertrained and ill-prepared
Highly recommend the documentary if you're interested in a similar story to Tyke's
Jumbo 😢 so many animals
@@enbeast8350fyi it’s Tillikum
Tyke: Shot.
Topsy: Electrocuted.
Mary: Hanged.
Black Diamond: Also shot.
My parents were married in the '40s in Erwin, TN, where Mary the Elephant was hanged. So, that's kind of part of our family history. It's horrifying at how often this sort of thing occurs, with very little consideration of shutting down that kind of exploitive entertainment. Thanks for this, Caitlin.
As a zookeeping major, we talked about Tyke a lot. It’s such a horrific story that we need to remember. Poor Tyke deserved better.
The problem with human beings is that we, for too long, have believed we are the only living thing that matters.
It’s heartbreaking to know this is still happening.
Not all of us but those that do are hard to reign in. I seen plenty of documentaries where animal are effectively sedated for whatever reason but as soon as a animal goes "on a rampage" no one seem to ever consider that option, it is straight to kill.
@@michaelpettersson4919 because you oxygen thief, people are in danger right now and we cannot just let people die while we dither about finding a tranquilizer gun and vet with mega large exotics to calculate the dose..and wait for it to go into effect, to still have a wildly aggressive and dangerous animal to have to deal with once it wakes up. Once down how do you propose dealing with it? You just gonna throw it over your shoulder and walk it to its enclosure? Who's going to handle it hmm? Are you gonna volunteer to care for and feed an insane elephant? Where will it live after the fact, do you want this thing in your neighborhood? Would you find it fair if it was set loose in your village? Its an animal, get over it
I saw a chained elephant at the Georgia State Fair about 16 years ago. She was so small and looked so, so sad. It was absolutely heartbreaking. I hope that she ended up in a sanctuary.
Was this in marietta?
@@DavidMartinez-oe4ln yes!
Probably at Jim miller park then? I live off windy hill is how I know
@@DavidMartinez-oe4ln I hope you don't celebrate it like a lot in that town do.
I was just thinking of that! knowing after Mary, animals like her were allowed to suffer for decades more until it had to happen AGAIN is so heartbreaking.,
3 of my cousins were at the circus that day & they're still pretty traumatized by what they saw.
As soon as you said Tyke was born in Mozambique I burst into tears and wept for a good portion of the video. I totally agree that it's extremely hard to claim that some animals (in particular, *many* mammals) have no ability to feel emotions, remember, mourn, and many other things that human beings experience. They clearly and absolutely do. I don't think it's anthropomorphizing them at all; it's recognizing that we aren't quite as unique of a species as we believe we are. Thank you for sharing Tyke's story.
We humans try constantly to look into space to find an alien species that we can talk to.
Maybe we ought to try first with the species on this planet who share traits of ours.
Me too. It's devastating. God bless Caitlin Doughty for memorializing this poor creature and exposing the abuse of animals taken from their natural homes.
It's so horrible isn't it. It's so recent that they were capturing animals from the wild, it always shocks me. She probably had memories still of her previous life as a free elephant by her mother's side. Tilikum the orca was wild caught as well. This cruelty to take a truly wild animal into lifelong captivity for our amusement and profit is all so recent in our history. 😢
I don't think that by "anthropomorphizing," she meant that it was a bad thing to empathise with animals and identify similarities between us and them. The danger of anthropomorphizing animals comes in when, for example, assuming that a feral animal is going to behave in the same predictable manner humans behave, communicate their feelings or needs in the same way, or that they're going to understand the intent behind certain human behaviors.
I think the worst part is, had Tyke not been taken away from her home, she would most likely still be alive today. She'd be a mother, a grand-mother and who knows, maybe a great-grand-mother...
Tyke wanted to live and deserved dignity, like any of us sentient beings. Thank you for making this Caitlin and keeping her story alive. Never stop speaking your truth.
I worked 30 years as a Petroleum geologist, then 8 years, semi-retired as an animal control officer. In those 8 years I saw instances of abuse that haunt me to this day. What really got me angry was a Judge who refused to hear a case of animal abuse because "I won't send a man to jail because of a stupid animal."
I can't tell you how many times I've heard it's fine to hunt wild rabbits if they aren't pets, because no one loves them
@@lazyhomebody1356 to be fair many wild animals are hunted for food, not just rabbits. I love ducks but that doesn’t stop people from hunting them.
@@Hippidippimahm But my point is, people only care about other people, not about animals at all. This is the channel where all the comments were 100% okay with your cat eating you after death, so yes, these people care!
Stupid judge more like it, just wait til that guy becomes a serial killer of humans
Thank you for being the kind and compassionate person you are... The animal lives you touched is such a gift... Thank you❤
Having worked with elephants a fair bit (wild reserve health monitoring) and learning as much as I can about them independently, I cannot get through this video without constantly pausing to get the tears out of my eyes. Their intelligence and sociality is well-known, but I still can't get across just how "smart" they actually are (I have some issues with the way we use words like "smart", "clever", "intelligence" etc. with animals, but it's borderline impossible to avoid them). There is absolutely no doubt in my opinion that elephants have theory of mind, and that makes all the news footage in this brutally difficult to watch. Thank you for covering this so compassionately.
I don't know how the videigrapher held it together while zooming in on her face while she slid down that car.
Such beautiful gentle animals. I did restoration work on the elephant house at the national zoo in DC in the late 80's. There was a "rogue" elephant at one end that paced constantly and there were 3 sweet elephants by where we were working. One carried a tire everywhere and only laid it down to eat and held it with her foot until she finished and picked it back up. The handler explained she'd lost her baby. And had carried the tire ever since. Broke my heart. But really got attached to them. There should be laws world wide against this craziness
You might enjoy reading Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
Oh, so sad.
The look in her eyes during her final moments, heartbreaking. 😔
That got a few tears from me. I just wanted to reach through the screen, pet her and love on her. I didn't see a violent animal, I see a hurt animal that's had enough.
Broke down & my tears flowed profusely at that scene, I had to pause 😔
@@SweepyNightOwl I lost it at that point as well. 😢
When I was young my grandparents took me to the circus and had me take an elephant ride. It makes me sick to think about. The elephant reached back to touch me and I pet her truck and she held my hand through the ride. It felt magical to me at the time, now I wonder if that was one of the few times she felt a gentle hand.
Oh my goodness... Here comes the tears again...
I feel like instead of just saying "stay in your seats" they would have also asked to stop screaming. Obviously hard not to, but that cacophony must have added to Tyke's panic and that of the crowd running to get away
I almost broke when you described her cowering from that trainer. At her end, I sobbed. I didn't hear about this as a kid and didn't understand the protest against performing animals or how bad the conditions were. Thank you for this. Your work is important.
That look down at your nails after saying the animal abuser died was gold! It gave sorry not sorry vibes 😂
TRUTH
I’ve never actually felt so angry that I wanted to cry but seeing animals or children being abused causes a mighty rage indeed. We must treat all life with love.
It's actually a blessing that she died, she's now free and is no longer suffering. Rip angel
How dare you say that!!? She didn't deserve to die!!!
@@hankking9007I think what they are saying is if she lived she would have faced more pain and abuse, so death was a kind of mercy that brought her peace.
@@Breadboy11 how dare you!!!??? She didn't deserve to die!!!
I remember when this happened, and the first thing my partner said was “What did they do to her? Someone abused that elephant.” And I remember thinking that scanned with what little I knew about elephants. I was already opposed to circus animals but this really cinched it. It was so tragic. Haven’t been to a circus or animal show since then.
Caitlin is so compassionate all the time that 25:25 really says "my mama don't like you and she likes everyone."
"Welp. That happened." 😒
This poor creature being pushed to its ultimate limit, its so heartbreaking :(
Subbed after this video. No one has told Tyke's story in such a comprehensive and empathetic way. Animals rule. Ban their use in circuses!
Using them in circuses should be okay, as long as they are ALWAYS treated well. But since people seem to have issues with that, then it's probably better if they don't use them.
A zoo near where I used to live in Scotland has rescued lions, bears and other animals from horrific circuses all over the world. The animals are now cared for properly, and are now thriving in their new home.
Ok furry
@@amberkat8147 I don't think it's possible to treat animals well in a circus given that theyre taken from their natural habitat and made to perform against their will, which is horrible in the first place
@@sdsures five sisters zoo right?
I was 11 when this happened. I remember watching it on the news (East Coast). I also remember my mom telling me that it wasn't the elephant's fault, that she must have been abused by humans.
I like your mom.
We miss you terribly! Hoping that everything is going well for you ❤
Between you sharing Tyke's story and Mr Ballen sharing "Murderous Mary"'s story, my heart is hurting so badly. These poor animals and the cruelty they have had to suffer absolutely breaks my heart. RIP sweet creatures.
Even when we turn them loose," people poach them
I'm with u 💯 Mary's story broke my heart, this too! It's time we stopped gawping at these poor animals for "entertainment" 😢
As we travelled through the African bush with a friend who cares for wild elephants & educates humans about their behavior, we saw that, elephants not only mourn their dead but weep for them also. To see elephants run to, weep & also "trunk-hug" long-lost friends, returned after being taken back from poachers made us weep also. Elephants do, indeed, have very long memories (one of the three collective nouns for a group of elephants is a "memory"!). They also build special bonds with humans who have helped them in any way. So, when Tyke turned, she knew exactly who she was targeting. I also am glad that "Blackfish" was made so well, considering the hundreds of thousands of dollars that Sea World paid to try & suppress it's release! My parents did not take us to the circus & my husband & I followed suit with our own children, making an exception only in the case of, "Cirque du Soleil" who, before it was a popular social idea, refused to have any animals perform. Thank you, so much for such a moving, well-told & cautionary vlog!
This affected people worldwide. It took a while but as of 2007 in Australia, there are no more performing elephants. As of 2021, no more wild/exotic animals at all.
Thank you for telling Tyke’s story with such empathy and respect. This one touched me deeply.
14:35: "After these 3 incidents she was still ALLOWED to perform?" I love you, Mortician Lady, but you misspoke. She was still FORCED to perform. That poor sad animal was forced to perform, in spite of doing every damned thing she could to show she'd had ENOUGH.
Ugh... you just mentioned Hawthorne!!! Three of my favorite elephants from a local childhood zoo were sold to them. After many years, I found 2 of them. They had been rescued from Hawthorne thousands of pounds underweight and tuberculosis positive. I was happy they both lived till the end at a sanctuary in Tennessee but my heart aches for what I now know they went through for all those years. I would trade all the happiness that they gave me in my childhood for their own family and happiness. The 2 I found were named Queenie and Liz. Still not found, Jackie. She was still a juvenile female African around 1986 or so.
26:40 "We have no idea why Tyke was aggressive" I spat my tea out and yelled in fury.
RIP Tyke. What an incredibly hard video to watch. Her eyes when the shot at her, I can’t stop crying. Thank you for making this video. The humans were the monsters, not Tyke.
We can cry.
This is something
else we share with Tike.
Agreed 😢
That video haunts me. She deserved so much better.
Even watching Tyke kick and trample people, all I could say is, “Poor sweet baby.” It wasn’t her fault that they left her with no other options. She already tried to simply run away multiple times. I don’t even want to imagine the way she was punished after running away previously. I think she killed the trainer because she knew how badly he was going to beat her if she let him live. She could have killed the other guy too, but she chose to only break a few bones. And to an elephant that size, I’m sure the blows that broke bones seemed much more docile than they were. This is just so heartbreaking. Elephants are my favorite animals.
I don't do Patreon because I'm a poor old man on a limited income, but one of the many things I love about your content is how you handel them in as humane and non-graphic way as possible.
I'd be fascinated to see you do something on the self immolation of the Bhuddist monks, famously captured in those photographs. I don't know how YT would handed it, if they allowed it at all, but if anyone could do so, I'd feel it would be you.
This episode was heartbreaking because Elephants are so majestic to me, something I find to be so beautiful and amazing. Thank you for handling it as you did, even with the very difficult to watch termination of Tyke's life and video showing her being shot.