Russia: 2 elephants escape from circus

PHOTO provided by Anna Dubrovskaya, in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020. When a circus troupe tried to load the animals into a truck to head to the next destination, they resisted, and walked away.

In Russia's third-largest city, Yekaterinburg, some residents recently witnessed two elephants wandering snowy streets, after escaping from an Italian circus passing through town.

It's fun in the snow for two elephants who escaped from a circus in Russia's third-biggest city https://t.co/n3rIh8VNEm pic.twitter.com/1kL3uFdUiV

- AP Europe (@AP_Europe) January 24, 2020

From AP:

Unreceptive to attempts to bring her back, one of the female elephants crossed a busy street and headed to a residential building to roll and cavort in the snow on Thursday. One man who tried to stop her by holding on to her trunk was pushed across the street, his feet sliding on the ice.

The local circus said the two elephants - Karla and Ranni - belonged to an Italian company that ran a show in Yekaterinburg during the New Year holidays.

When its troupe tried to load the animals into a truck to head to the next destination, they resisted and walked away. The circus said that Ranni loitered near the loading point but the more adventurous Karla decided to make a tour of the city. Handlers finally got a rope around one of the elephant's front legs, but it took a dozen people to pull her back. She reluctantly obeyed after playing in the snow.

2 elephants escape from circus in Russian city [apnews.com]