Woman Says Zoo Elephant Threw Stone at Her

Police yesterday said they are probing whether an elephant at the zoo inside Children’s Grand Park in Seoul threw a stone at a woman.

The Gwangjin Ward Police Station said, “A woman surnamed Kim reported to police that she was hit by a stone thrown by an elephant.”

Kim was taking a walk in the quiet zoo around 9:30 a.m. Monday. She told The Dong-A Ilbo, “The elephant (Taesani) was picking up a stone with its trunk. I was really impressed that it really used its trunk to hold something. And I then moved to the lions’ den.”

When she went to see lions, she said she was hit by a stone the size of a bowl. When she tried to find who threw it, she said she saw nobody nearby.

“I was hit on the left side of my head. I could see only the enclosure of the elephant on the left side. I shouted since it hurt so much, the elephant rolled up its trunk, and stared at me.”

After Kim reported the incident, police began an investigation Monday. They checked security camera footage taken nearby the enclosure of the elephant, but the place where Kim said she was hit by the stone was out of the range of cameras.

A police source said, “Though Ms. Kim believes the elephant threw a stone at her, it’s hard to conclude that the elephant attacked her since there are neither witnesses nor evidence. We’ll investigate whether the park is responsible.”

The zoo, however, ruled out the possibility that the elephant threw the stone. Given that the fences are located just three meters away from the enclosure, however, it is possible that the elephant did it.

Born in 1974, Taesani has been a popular attraction since 1975 when it was moved to the zoo.

minki@donga.com