Customers of a well known coffee chain in Cork, Ireland, were astonished when they saw a strange object among their vehicles in the car park. The object, most definitely not a car, turned out to be a 2.5-tonne Indian elephant that had escaped from a travelling circus. The whole incident was captured on CCTV cameras at the busy retail park. The 40-year-old animal can be seen stomping through a packed car park as its handlers struggle to bring it under control.
The elephant was eventually brought under control and taken back to the circus. The footage has been labelled a ‘wake-up call’ by the Animal Rights Action Network who are campaigning against the capture and confinement of elephants.