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SUV nearly slams into elephant

An elephant that escaped from the Family Fun Circus at the Garfield County Fairgrounds after being spooked caused a vehicle accident Wednesday night, Nov. 4, 2009 as it ran along North the U.S. 81 bypass in Enid, Okla. According to Enid Police Department Sgt. Billy Varney, the couple in the vehicle were not injured. The elephant suffered a broken tusk, a hurt leg and bumps, bruises and scratches, he said. (AP Photo/Enid News&Eagle, Billy Hefton)

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By SEAN MURPHY, The Associated Press Updated 12:53 PM Friday, November 6, 2009

OKLAHOMA CITY — It's not unusual to see a deer or a cow crossing Oklahoma's rural highways. But an elephant?

A couple driving home from church nearly slammed into a giant pachyderm that had escaped from a nearby circus late Wednesday.

"Didn't have time to hit the brakes. The elephant blended in with the road," driver Bill Carpenter said Thursday. "At the very last second I said 'elephant!'"

Carpenter, 68, said he swerved his SUV at the last second and ended up sideswiping the 29-year-old female elephant on U.S. 81 in Enid, about 80 miles north of Oklahoma City.

"So help me Hanna, had I hit that elephant, not swerved, it would have knocked it off its legs, and it would have landed right on top of us," he said. "We'd have been history."

The couple, who own a wheat farm, weren't injured. But the 8-foot, 4,500-pound elephant was being examined Thursday for a broken tusk and a leg wound. A local veterinarian said it appeared to have escaped major injury.

"I thought this can't be happening. Out here you could hit a deer or a cow, but this can't be happening. The good Lord was with us," Carpenter said. The elephant's tusk punched through the side of the SUV, tearing up sheet metal.

After sideswiping the elephant, his wife, Deena, flagged some people down and used their cell phone to call police.

"The dispatcher didn't believe her: 'You hit a what?'" he said. "I told my wife, I don't know whether to cry or laugh."

Enid veterinarian Dr. Dwight Olson said the elephant was hiding in some bushes just off the highway when he arrived shortly after the accident. Handlers from the circus were able to calm it down, and Olson cleaned the leg wound and gave it some pain killer.

The elephant was taken Thursday to the veterinary school at Oklahoma State University for a follow-up exam.

"I don't believe there's a broken bone, but I don't have an X-ray room big enough to examine it," Olson said.

The elephant had escaped from the Family Fun Circus at the Garfield County Fairgrounds earlier Wednesday after something spooked it while it was being loaded into a truck with another elephant, Olson said.

David Sacks, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said late Thursday the elephant is owned by the same license holder of two elephants that escaped after getting spooked by a tornado in WaKeeney, Kan., last year. The license holder is Doug Terranova, Sacks said.

A booking agent for the circus, Rachael Bellman, said she was unaware of the incident, and a telephone message left with circus officials wasn't immediately returned.

Carpenter joked about being involved in such a bizarre accident on what is usually a peaceful church night.

"I don't know what was in the wine, but it must have been pretty strong," he said.

___

November 06, 2009 02:45 AM EST

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If dolphins are so smart, why do they live in igloos?

numbskull72
10:42 PM, 11/5/2009

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If elephants are so smart, what are they doing crossing a highway?

JD
9:54 PM, 11/5/2009

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Peanut, I agree. Animals in general are much smarter than people give them credit for. They are living, breathing creatures that feel pain both physically and emotionally. I don't understand how far some people are willing to go with the mistreatment of other species for profit. It hurts my heart to think about the abuse that exists in circuses, laboratories, factory farms and your neighbors backyard. I try to be a voice for animals personally and politically...they deserve a voice.

Created Equal
8:09 PM, 11/5/2009

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elephants don't belong in circuses, they are abused in training sessions and forced to travel year round while performing silly and unnatural acts. these animnals are highly social, intelligent and deserve better
several animal welfare groups have sued Ringling Bros for violating the endagered species act. circus acts like these need to end, for the sake of all the animals
they are lucky she did no more damage and I'm sure she was frightened ... and clearly tired of life on the road

peanut
5:56 PM, 11/5/2009

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