In a circus performance in Belarus, elephants came rushing to aid their fellow performer after falling down from a pyramid of stools, about 6 feet high above the ground.
The Dodo posted a video of the large mammal about to go down from the top of stacked stools when it lost its step and fell down to the ground. The animal's fall prompted other elephants standing outside the ring to run inside to check as the poor fellow got back on his feet.
Luckily, no spectator was hurt after the elephant seemingly avoided hitting front row people upon his fall. The elephant performer, however, acquired injuries from the accident.
This incident will again fuel animal activists on their fight against animals being held captive and cruelly trained for circus performances.
According to Animal Asia's David Neale, "elephants are forced to perform demeaning and degrading tricks."
"Almost all training of wild-caught elephants involves breaking them using horrific abuse, including beating, chaining, stretching, food deprivation, and social deprivation," National Council of SPCAs in South Africa's Ainsley Hay told National Geographic.
Although it has been reported that elephants are being captured and transported for displays in circuses and safaris across the world, The Dodo reports national and local governments worldwide have outlawed such form of animal captivity.
While some are waiting for a nationwide ban in the U.S., one of the country's largest circus operators, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, announced in March that they have voluntarily stopped forcing animals to perform in circus.
"We are thrilled that Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus has taken the historic step of ceasing to use elephants in its shows," World Animal Protection U.S. Executive Director Priscilla Ma told The Dodo. "They belong in the wild, and we hope that this groundbreaking action will inspire other companies to end their use of wild animals for entertainment purposes."
Ma added, "wild animals suffer in the name of entertainment" everyday.
