I read the news yesterday and i found one that is interesting! To those whom might not know my past well I work in the circus before and believe me it was hard work! Back to the story i read, concerning a runaway elephant and by golly the owner is Doug Terranova who came to Malaysia and i work part time for him helping the Elephants out! Times fly really!!! I remember cleaning the mess made by the elephants 3 of them Judy, Mary and Betty. All ladies but Betty was the leader. She nearly kill me that is after being kick twice slap twice and the last was the killa! Doug later ask me to enter his trailer offered me a drink( I don't accept it) and say welcome to the animal world!

He was also the person who remark to me i must be good because of my religion!! I still work in the circus but by then I was working with Pamela and Roger Zoppe who are husband and wife chimpanzee trainer. Judy of Daktari TV fame was here and i clean her cages and she was by then huge! It is a different story but that memories still etch in my mind. I have to republish the news and articles about them for my collection!

Circus elephant that escaped and was hit by SUV OK

By MURRAY EVANS

Associated Press Writer

Enid News & Eagle, Billy Hefton

An animal rights group on Friday asked a U.S. Department of Agriculture agency to look into an owner's treatment of a circus elephant that escaped and was hit by a sport utility vehicle on a northwestern Oklahoma highway.

The 29-year-old female elephant, meanwhile, was treated by veterinarians at Oklahoma State University and released to its owner, said university spokesman Gary Shutt. Shutt would only say that the animal's injuries were not major.

The group In Defense of Animals wants the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service "to confiscate two suffering elephants" from Douglas K. Terranova of Kaufman, Texas, the group said in a letter to Robert Gibbens, a regional director for the agency.

Agency spokesman David Sacks said all complaints are taken seriously and that the agency will look into the situation.

"If it holds some weight, we'll address that," he said.

A report filed by Enid police concerning the Wednesday night incident listed Terranova as the elephant's owner. Terranova did not immediately return a phone message left Friday.

Terranova already faces a complaint filed by the USDA concerning alleged violations of the Animal Welfare Act from 2005 through 2008. Among other things, the USDA complaint alleges two elephants owned by Terranova escaped from a circus in Kansas in June 2008 after the animals were spooked by strong storms.

It wasn't immediately clear Friday if the elephant involved in the Oklahoma incident also was involved in the Kansas escape, although Deb Robinson, a captive elephant specialist with In Defense of Animals, said the group believes that is the case.

"Incidents such as this are just further demonstration that elephants do not belong in circuses," Robinson said. "It is impossible for their natural needs to be met, and the result is the kind of stress that would cause an elephant to bolt like this one did."

Bill and Denna Carpenter of Enid said they were driving home from church on U.S. Highway 81 when their vehicle sideswiped the elephant, which had escaped from the Family Fun Circus.

Neither of the Carpenters were injured. The 8-foot, 4,500-pound elephant was examined for a broken tusk and a leg wound.

A statement on the circus' Web site said the circus "does not own an elephant" and that the animal was with the circus "for a few weeks."

The circus' statement said the accident "was not the result of any abuse by anyone" and that the elephant will not return to the circus for the balance of the season. It also said the circus had been told by the elephant's owner that the animal was being seen by his regular veterinarian.

Meet the Terranova Kids & Their Amazing Animal Friends

Submitted by Jim Cole on 7/26/2009
Last Modified

For the sixth year in a row, Circus4Youth has traveled to Peru, Indiana for the annual "Circus City Festival" which features the Peru Amateur Youth Circus. While there, we have also visited the "International Circus Hall of Fame" which is located in rural Peru. During the last three visits, there have been professional circus familys with kids performing under the big top at the Circus Hall of Fame. In 2007 we did a feature article on the Cristiani family, and last year we introduced our readers to the Alvarez family. This year, Circus4Youth would like you to meet the Terranova family, and their amazing animals!

11 year old Alexandrea, Doug (their dad) and 7 year old Taylar Terranova.
That's Congo and Kamba, their performing Elephants.

Living and working with circus animals would be a very unique way of life for most kids, but for Alexandrea, Taylar and their 18 month old brother Rayce, it is so very normal. Their father is professional circus animal trainer Doug Terranova, and these kids spend their summers on the road with him. They have a very large family if you include 2 African Elephant, 5 Tigers, a Camel, 2 Zebras, a North American Mountain Lion, a Spider Monkey, and two house cats. With this large assortment of animals, comes a lot of work to make sure they all get the best possible care while traveling from one circus to another. Their dad has 3 hired hands to do much of the work, but the two girls each have chores to do with regard to caring for their animals.

Doug shows Taylar the safe way to pass a watering pan to Shasta the Mountain Lion.
While working with animals like this can be fun, safety is a top priority.

Taylar passes some hay to the elephants, her dad is always close by.

Entering the circus ring atop an elephant.

Left: Alexandrea on Congo, Right: Taylar on Kamba

Doug presents the Tigers, while Alexandrea works the cage door that lets the
Tigers in and out of the "big cage". She must be very careful to make
sure the Tigers are let in and out in the correct order.

But other than their unusual home life, the Terranova girls are quite your everyday kids. They go to school in Texas, and have many friends, both in and out of circus. Alexandrea is in the 6th grade, and says her favorite subject is math. She has a close friend in Texas named Ashley who often comes around when they are home and helps with the animals. When asked about her favorite food, Hot Dogs seem to top the list. She enjoys Rap music and "Twighlight" is her favorite movie.

7 year old Taylar is in the 2nd grade, and she enjoys helping her dad take care of the animals, as does her sister. But when it comes to food, hot dogs just have to go, a good plate of Chinese food sends her back for seconds. She shares her sister's choice however of music and movies.

Taylar and Alexandrea show off their new costumes that
just arrived via UPS!

Left: Alexandrea text messages her friend Ashley who is home in Texas.
Right: The Terranova girls pose with their friends Ariana and
Gianni Alvarez at the Peru Circus Festival.

18 month old Rayce is too young to work with the animals, but he
none the less enjoys being around them. That's his close buddy "Bucky"
the Spider Monkey.

Rayce pays a visit to the Donkeys.

The special transport semi trailer that is designed to provide maximum
comfort for the animals while traveling from city to city.

Alexandrea and Taylar ride high atop the elephants in the
50th annual Peru Circus Parade.

Check out Alexandrea's and Taylar's page on "CircuSpace" send them a greeting, tell them you saw their article on Circus4Youth!

THE END