ELEPHANT AT LARGE

Taranaki Daily News, 21 December 1931, Page 11

ELEPHANT AT LARGE

AN EXCITED POPULACE. INCIDENTS OF THE CHASE. (New Zealand Herald Correspondent.) Sydney, Dec. 10. After a fortnight’s freedom, during which she enjoyed the time of her young life, “Cisele,” an elephant, is now back at the circus from which she escaped while showing at one of the New South Wales-Queensland, border towns. “Cissie” js a female elephant who has -belied her name.

“Cissie” has had a whole district aroused to a great pitch of excitement. Highly organised search parties were set up, but the animal moved more than I'4o miles in less than a week, and for a while defied the most experienced huntamen. She broke down fences and ravaged crops and trees, frightened horses and cattle, and one day had the whole of the inhabitants of a small township thoroughly alarmed as she scampered wildly through the main street.

A humorous feature of the chase was that the circus attendants applied to the police for the services of a black tracker in order to keep track of the elephant. This in spite of the fact that the elephant left a trail of damage and footdeep hoof marks. In fact, it is stated that one of the searchers sprained an ankle when he fell into “Cissie’s” right foreleg footprint. When the elephant got into the rivers and mudfiats she had a glorious time. One searcher says he is willing to vouch for the fact that the elephant walked along the bed of one river for miles practically submerged, with her trunk jutting out of the water like the periscope of a submarine. For the first week of her escape “Cissie” was comparatively quiet, and for a time she enjoyed herself by bathing in the Mclntyre River. Her trumpetings of joy resounded over miles of bush country. When, however, the pursuit became warm she livened up and then showed just what an elephant on a holiday could do. She crashed across great stretches of country at a great speed,, and was too fast for some of the speediest horses in the border country. "Cissm” walked through crops with a total disregard for the consequences, but this was mor© than the farmers could bear, so they called for volunteers. No doubt tha aevslty of aa elephant chase

appealed to many, for there was quite a rush to serve. Excitement ran so high that “Cissie” was reported simultaneously from various parts of the district, and. the searchers were bewikleror! bi fact, the search of the elephant had to stop on occasions while a search for the searchers was instituted.

Special efforts were made last Tuesday, after the wanderer had been at large for a fortnight, to effect a capture, and the trail took a specially organised party ten miles. Finally, "Cissie” was seen in rough, mountainous country. When the party approached she made off and jumped into a creek. When she was enticed out an effort was made to hobble her, but she jumped right over the head of one of the men. Another member of the party chased her on a horse, but the horse stumbled, and he was injured. "Cissie” had another swim, but ultimately was enticed to leave the river .by liberal offers of food. In order to keep her quiet, the whole party went without dinner. She is now back, in the ring.