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An elephant in the Ramat Gan safari.
Last update - 13:47 01/08/2008
Minister's granddaughter attacked by elephant after sneaking into safari after hours
By Roni Singer-Heruti and Zafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondents
Tags: israel, safari

A 17-year-old girl who snuck into the Ramat Gan safari early Friday was moderately to seriously injured after she was attacked by an elephant.

Haaretz has learned that the victim is the granddaughter of a cabinet minister, though a gag order has been placed on the identity of the minister.

The teenager and her boyfriend, 20, both from Petah Tikva, snuck into the safari at around 5:30 A.M. They apparently explored the safari and when they reached the elephant exhibit, one of the giant animals wrapped its trunk around the girl's body and dragged her into the pen.
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The girl struggled to escape while her boyfriend tried to help. She finally managed to escape the elephant' grasp and exit the pen.

The Magen David Adom (MDA) rescue service arrived on the scene and rushed the girl to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, where her condition was listed as moderate to serious.

Medics said they did not initially believe the boyfriend's story when he called in the early morning to tell them an elephant had stepped on his girlfriend, but sent an ambulance to the scene anyway.

The MDA hotline continued to call the youth in order to verify his story. When medics arrived on the scene, they found the girl lying on the ground near the elephant cage suffering from pelvic, stomach and chest wounds.

Despite the youths' account that the elephant pulled them into the restricted area, safari employees believe perhaps they entered on their own.

From time to time police receive reports about youths sneaking into the safari at night to go on private excursions. In the past, a man was arrested for taking youths on these types of tours while under the influence of drugs.

Safari employees said the girl entered the nighttime cage of the Asian elephant called Motek (sweetie). Motek is considered the male leader of the Asian elephant herd. The male elephant is caged in alone at night while the females of the herd wander in the nearby field.

At this stage, safari employees are still unsure of how the two youths entered the safari. Certain points of of entry are off limits even during hours where the safari is open to visitors. According to safari employees, the elephant caretakers also avoid entering the closed area where Motek is kept.
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  1.   stupidity rewarded 12:00  |  the truth 01/08/08
  2.   DELETED BY MODERATOR 14:02  |  David Teich 01/08/08
  3.   Original it is... 14:07  |  Esther 01/08/08
  4.   Was the elephant Palestinian? 15:58  |  AH 01/08/08
  5.   Has Hamas claimed responsibility? 16:11  |  hmaore 01/08/08
  6.   They broke into the Safari Park - call a spade a spade! 16:30  |  redmike 01/08/08
  7.   Another anti-semitism revealed 17:04  |  Javad 01/08/08
  8.   Anti-Semitc Elephants.. 17:13  |  Zionist Bum 01/08/08
  9.   "Youth is wasted on the wrong people!" 17:42  |  "It`sAWonderfulLife" 01/08/08
  10.   Saba`s PROTEKZIA didn`t mean anything 18:06  |  * BEN JABO 01/08/08
  11.   A First Class Idiot 18:19  |  Bill Foonman 01/08/08
  12.   some boyfriend 19:39  |  michelle 01/08/08
  13.   Elephant attacks minister`s grand daughter. 19:41  |  David Nigel Braham 01/08/08
  14.   I am sure there are idiots..... 20:21  |  Nemesis 01/08/08
  15.   AH, you`re an imbecile 21:00  |  W 01/08/08
  16.   pm: next stop, foam party 21:12  |  frenz 01/08/08
  17.   Elephant ignorance 00:12  |  Ed Kneler 02/08/08
  18.   This is a metaphor, surely...... 01:31  |  Johnboy 02/08/08
  19.   johnboy 03:58  |  Nemesis 02/08/08
  20.   Rivka 06:19  |  Rivka Tenembaun 02/08/08
  21.   john boy and Rivka 11:14  |  leila perez 02/08/08
  22.   #19 Nemesis 11:47  |  Johnboy 02/08/08
  23.   18: If it`s a metaphor, it`s in the wrong paper 16:40  |  David Teich 03/08/08
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