Daily History Picture: Elephant Jump September 9, 2015
Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical Pictures , trackback
The elephant survived… Quite why anyone would put an elephant on a mono-rail I’m not sure but this picture captures the moment it jumps.
19 Sep 2015: Gary V writes in. There is a wikipedia page! ‘On 21 July 1950 the circus director Franz Althoff had Tuffi, then 4 years old, take the Schwebebahn in Wuppertal, as a marketing gag. The elephant trumpeted wildly and ran through the wagon, broke through a window and fell some 12 metres (39 ft) down into the Wupper river, suffering only minor injuries. A panic had broken out in the wagon and some passengers were injured. Althoff helped the elephant out of the water. Both the circus director and the official who had allowed the ride were fined.’
