A seven-year-old girl has been killed after being stuck by a stone thrown by an elephant in Rabat Zoo.
The girl was reportedly sitting on her father’s shoulders around the elephant enclosure at the zoo in Morocco’s capital on Tuesday when the freak incident occurred, reports the BBC.
Witnesses have told media that they saw the elephant pick the stone up and hurl it at the girl as she and her father stood with their backs to the enclosure to pose for a picture being taken by the girl’s mother.
The girl, who has not been identified, was reportedly knocked unconscious as soon as the stone hit and died a few hours later in hospital.
A bystander who took a video after the girl was struck shows the elephant waving behind the fence, as well as a shot of the stone which struck the girl.
A spokesperson for the zoo has expressed condolences over the incident but the zoo has not gone so far as to claim any liability.
“Accidents of this type are rare, unforeseeable and unusual,” he said in a statement, reports Morocco World News.
“Accidents of this nature have happened in international zoos, most recently in Disney World Orlando and the Cincinnati Zoo in the United States.”
An elephant expert, Phyllis Lee, scientific director for scientific director, said an elephant lashing out at a human on purpose is highly unusual.
“It can happen when elephants are frustrated or bored. In my opinion, it’s unlikely the elephant was directly targeting the girl — but exhibiting frustration. You can’t predict what animals in captivity will do,” she told BBC.
