An elephant in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus has been injured in a drive-by shooting in Mississippi.
The 39-year-old Asian elephant named Carol was resting in an enclosure outside the BancorpSouth Arena in Tupelo yesterday when she was hit in the shoulder with a shot fired from a passing vehicle, said arena spokesman Kevan Kirkpatrick.
The circus is in Tupelo for several shows that are due to start at the arena tomorrow.
The elephant will be taken to Missouri for several weeks of treatment and is expected to make a full recovery, circus spokeswoman Melinda Hartline said.
She said no other animals or people had been injured in the shooting.
Tupelo Police Department detectives have been looking for leads in the case but so far they have little information, Captain Rusty Haynes said.
Haynes said the crime would be pursued as a federal offence under the Endangered Species Act because it involved an endangered animal.
Reuters