Tyke the Elephant

Nov 12, 2017 7:38 PM

Slaytanic14

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64855

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1919

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89

After 12 years of torture in a Hawaiian circus, Tyke the Elephant managed to escape during a live performance in August of 1994. Injuring staff on his way out, police shot him 86 times in the street, which eventually killed him. The look in his eye tells a thousand stories.

Step aside Harambe

8 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 1

This happened 20 years ago. Also the elephant killed a man and injured 2 others before the cops were forced to take him down.

8 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

I️ am so sad.

8 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

They once fully hung an elephant in Coney Island once cos it killed his trainer. People are the worst.

8 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 1

The fear is those eyes but no one can hurt him now. Rest well Tyke.

8 years ago | Likes 23 Dislikes 2

Stampy No!

8 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Silver lining! He's at peace now and cant be hurt again

8 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Isn't this one of the reasons we have animal control now, which have stock of large animal tranquilizers. (not typically for elephants but.)

8 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 1

The horrible things we humans do to these beautiful creatures honestly breaks my very soul.

8 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

It was horrific &most definitely the result of years of abuse by its keepers.Sadly The police had little choice. Tyke had killed 1&was loose

8 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Go back 20 years when circuses were more popular and there was an average of 13 elephants going mad per year in the U.S. (cont...)

8 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

and there where always human casualties when it happened. These are powerful animals with an amazing range of emotion. Should never be caged

8 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

That is the most heartbreaking thing I think I have ever seen. Rest in peace Tyke. Humans failed you.

8 years ago | Likes 51 Dislikes 4

Circus was in Hawai‘i, not a Hawaiian circus. That was a tragic day.

8 years ago | Likes 8 Dislikes 0

Uhhh...

8 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 3

"I just want to be free! I just want to go home! Please, stop hurting me, I just want to go home!"

8 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Tyke was a she

8 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

I remember they couldn't bring Tyke down with their sidearms... guessing it would go a little differently today

8 years ago | Likes 8 Dislikes 2

Yeah, police don't generally carry a wristbreaker capable of downing an elephant.

8 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Not necessarily. Sidearms aren't much changed in power from then, just capacity and reliability. Rifles still might not be more available.

8 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

I was there that day... It was terrifying having a raging elephant running directly at you. She didn't deserve the life or death she got.

8 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

v

8 years ago | Likes 38 Dislikes 4

... F@#$ man...

8 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

What is the name of the circus? Also, all circus involving animals should just be banned. Zoos should be an open area like a safari.

8 years ago | Likes 33 Dislikes 8

I went to this circus as a kid. We shut down the circus and will ban all circus animals. Real tragedy that Tyke suffered in life and death

8 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Wouldnt half the animals just kill each other then?

8 years ago | Likes 28 Dislikes 0

No, they'd all live in harmony! Haven't you watched Lion King?

8 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Most zoos are fine, they don't need to be an open area as long as they're given proper enrichment (not saying lock em in cages either)

8 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 0

Human tortured elephant. Elephant escaped and the human blame the elephant and killed it. Oh yeah, we are a shitty living being...

8 years ago | Likes 24 Dislikes 6

The elephant was horrifically abused, but OP failed to mention she killed her trainer during the escape. They had to protect the public.

8 years ago | Likes 10 Dislikes 1

Well I mean if a crazed elephant is running around injuring people, what else are you gonna do? I wouldn't blame police (although maybe 1/2

8 years ago | Likes 16 Dislikes 1

Their method was questionable) blame the circus for keeping it and treating it terribly in the first place

8 years ago | Likes 13 Dislikes 0

The eyes only tell that he's being shot. Even a fairly well treated animal would be terrified when getting shot

8 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 1

'Torture?' Hawaii has all the animal protection laws found on the mainland. Unless someone was prosecuted for animal abuse, stop it. 1/2

8 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

2/2 It's OK to keep a mule in a small stall and have it pull a plow in the hot sun, but making an elephant stand up in a tent is torture?...

8 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

The animal was tortured. Her trainer beat elephants until they screamed in pain and tried to get away. Elephants! She killed him.

8 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

God, I hate people...

8 years ago | Likes 178 Dislikes 13

If animals had smartphones and took a vid of themselves eating a dear fetus out of the womb, you’d hate them just the same.

8 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 1

Only animals that are aware of cruelty and continue to do it .dumb dumb people..

8 years ago | Likes 11 Dislikes 6

People are beautiful, they actually have the gift to protect. What you hate are certain type of people. A**holes sh*t over everything.

8 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 4

People are the worst animals

8 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

Additional facts: Tyke was a female, who killed her trainer and critically wounded a groomer during the escape. The trainer was known to 1/2

8 years ago | Likes 14 Dislikes 0

I'm glad she at least got to kill the trainer.

8 years ago | Likes 8 Dislikes 2

abuse elephants to the point that they would scream and try to avoid the blows, and would scream at just the sight of him thereafter. 2/2

8 years ago | Likes 10 Dislikes 0

Was about to link Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" as a comparison (elephant going berserk for no reason). Instead: Fuck that trainer.

8 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

He's so wide eyed and scared , this is horrifying

8 years ago | Likes 243 Dislikes 4

That’s more the look of insanity, but I hear tmya

8 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 4

Hear *ya sorry. On mobile.

8 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

It's photoshopped, you can google tyke the elephant for the original.

8 years ago | Likes 39 Dislikes 3

Yea that eye woud be about the size of a human head and no elephant has eyes that big...

8 years ago | Likes 9 Dislikes 5

Looks the same, just colourized. I could be wrong, horrific either way. The article I read might have had a slightly different picture.

8 years ago | Likes 14 Dislikes 1

This is real animal cruelty right here, none of that PETA bullshit.

8 years ago | Likes 1114 Dislikes 22

To be fair, PETA does some pretty serious stuff. They're both bad, and should be treated the same.

8 years ago | Likes 20 Dislikes 6

HARAMBE WASNT THE FIRST

8 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 6

Nobody cares about the gorilla anymore m8. His meme is about as ded as he is.

8 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 1

Totally agree

8 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 1

Yes and PETA...themselves.

8 years ago | Likes 106 Dislikes 2

Fuuuuck Peta

8 years ago | Likes 21 Dislikes 1

Actually I think i mis-interpreted what you meant.

8 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 0

Peta campaigns against the use of elephants in circuses https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/circuses/elephants-broken-spiri

8 years ago | Likes 13 Dislikes 89

PETA is a fucking farse.

8 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Which I’m sure they’ll get around to after they have all he streets named Elephant renamed or some bullshit.

8 years ago | Likes 11 Dislikes 1

They also kill more animals than any pound.

8 years ago | Likes 99 Dislikes 4

Pretty unfair to say that, they dont have the resources to take care of them. If they had Im sure they would

8 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 70

Or they could stop stealing animals? That would work too.

8 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

PETA has an avg annual revenue of over $30,000,000 if they don't lack resources. They lack will.

8 years ago | Likes 31 Dislikes 2

They bring in so much money that they could take care of them but instead steal and kill people’s pets, there was even a news story on it

8 years ago | Likes 16 Dislikes 1

It isn't unfair. they kill a lot of animals. That's just stating a fact. They are a multi-million dollar NPO. They CHOOSE to kill.

8 years ago | Likes 8 Dislikes 0

They literally have been caught systematically advertising care then killing the pets turned over to them only hours after

8 years ago | Likes 14 Dislikes 2

Well they stole animals to kill them, so I'm not sure it's a money thing.

8 years ago | Likes 13 Dislikes 1

They have the money. They'd just rather spend it on shaming people via marketing campaigns that bring nothing but shame to real activists.

8 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 0

Isn’t it like 80 or something percent of all animals that go to peta get euthanized?

8 years ago | Likes 37 Dislikes 1

I don't know the number but it is surprisingly high.

8 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 1

91

8 years ago | Likes 14 Dislikes 0

Nameanothernonprofitthathasa90%deathcount.jpg

8 years ago | Likes 8 Dislikes 2

Make a Wish foundation....

8 years ago | Likes 11 Dislikes 0

8 years ago | Likes 59 Dislikes 20

We need to make a team of such talented ppl

8 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 2

Not even mad... you saw the opportunity and took it

8 years ago | Likes 9 Dislikes 2

Calm down Peta

8 years ago | Likes 15 Dislikes 0

But Looiisss

8 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Are we really doing this?

8 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

What the actual fuck. Is his trunk split open? Who would do this to an animal? This is heartbreaking even if it is 30 years old

8 years ago | Likes 300 Dislikes 9

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8 years ago (deleted Dec 29, 2017 7:07 AM) | Likes 0 Dislikes 0

The trainer who abused the animal was crushed to death first, IIRC. Sad the animal had to be put down after that.

8 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 1

Bullet wounds.

8 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

It was a performing animal decided it's had enough of hell and went on a rampage. It was shot to death but it look a long time. Tragic.

8 years ago | Likes 73 Dislikes 1

The police only had handguns and shotguns at first, and nobody knew where to shoot the animal to kill it humanely. It was a horrorshow.

8 years ago | Likes 26 Dislikes 0

Looks more like a bleeding bullet wound to me.

8 years ago | Likes 18 Dislikes 0

23 years

8 years ago | Likes 20 Dislikes 2

It's its ear

8 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

No?

8 years ago | Likes 9 Dislikes 0

Here, we see an actual abused animal. Meanwhile, PETA parades around movie props to try and get people's attention.

8 years ago | Likes 281 Dislikes 15

They also kill dogs and throw them in dumpster behind shelters to convince people that they’re not following protocols.

8 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 1

The only way PETA'd use this picture is to say that this is what elephant shearing does. Look at all that blood!

8 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 1

In between killing any animal they get their hands on.

8 years ago | Likes 11 Dislikes 1

Just be glad PETA used a movie prop and didn't actually mangle a lamb just to take a picture.

8 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Hey now, they're advocating against real animal abuse! Like shearing sheep or owning cats.

8 years ago | Likes 57 Dislikes 6

Owning a cat is human abuse.

8 years ago | Likes 9 Dislikes 0

Or murdering cows for milk.

8 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

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8 years ago (deleted Oct 2, 2025 11:12 PM) | Likes 0 Dislikes 0

That sucks. I'm sure animal cruelty happens in just about every field where they are the product but shearing sheep isn't a common one.

8 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 0

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8 years ago (deleted Oct 2, 2025 11:12 PM) | Likes 0 Dislikes 0

You think people on this site are too stupid for sarcasm or think it's low-hanging fruit and downvoting you so you'd try harder?

8 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 40

Well, fucking RIP for that then, I guess.

8 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 3

oof sorry that didn’t work out

8 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

People on this site are also quick to down-vote people who talk shit, seems fair. Way of the game, right?

8 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0