Tava's Wrath

Our most recent trip to Discovery Kingdom included my folks, who were due for a day of fun with the grandkids. But all was not well at Discovery Kingdom.

Here we are sitting ring-side in the Tava the Elephant amphitheater. She's begun putting on her show, but we've noticed how much her handler taunts her. Things are getting tense. See how my Mom looks anxious, though the kids are oblivious to the violence about to erupt...




















See how the trainer holds the fruit aloft, just out of reach of Tava's grasping trunk? Now, we all know how intelligent and emotionally complicated these beasts are. We also know of their immense strength. Would you taunt an elephant like this, in front of a crowd no less? Well, Tava had had enough.


























She scooped him up on her knee and reared back. Look at the terror on his face as he feebly grasps at her tusk in an attempt to survive the retributive attack...




















But it's to no avail! The elephant will not be soothed! She grips the handler in her trunk and begins to squeeze. It is horrible! It is pitiful! Oh the workman's comp claims!




















But my family came to the rescue. Annie and the grandparents walked up with the kids to assuage the anger of the maddened beast, braving physical harm and even death. Here they are, reaching out to stroke her wrinkly hide to placate her wrath. We saved the handler, though he suffered some broken ribs (comeuppance, I call it). And I was there to capture it all on SD card.