"Jealousy to Blame?" Elephant Brawl Chaos at Russian Circus Venue

Audience Rush to Exit Quickly

A commotion broke out in Russia when elephants suddenly started a brawl during a circus performance. Photo by YouTube video capture.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] A commotion broke out in Russia when elephants suddenly engaged in a brawl during a circus performance.

On the 21st (local time), Russia's RIA Novosti reported that the prosecutor's office launched an investigation into the clash between elephants that occurred during a circus performance in Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan.

In the video capturing the incident, one of the two elephants on the circus stage suddenly charged at the other elephant.

The attacked elephant fell and was pushed out of the stage, but the attacking elephant did not stop.

Startled by this, the audience panicked and began to leave the venue, turning the circus into chaos in an instant.

The fight between the elephants only calmed down after trainers intervened for a long time, wielding sticks and whips.

Fortunately, it was reported that no one was injured in this incident.

Circus director Ramil Sharipulin analyzed that the fight was due to jealousy.

A commotion broke out in Russia when elephants suddenly started a brawl during a circus performance. Photo by YouTube video capture.

Director Ramil explained the background of the brawl, saying, "There was a dispute between the circus elephants Jenny and Magda," adding, "Both are female Asian elephants, and there has been conflict for five years, with jealousy as the underlying cause."

The spectators who witnessed the elephants' brawl could not hide their bewilderment.

A parent who visited the circus with their daughter said, "It was pure panic," adding, "The distance to the elephants was too close. We, as well as other audience members, were all frantic trying to escape."

The day after the incident, the circus refunded all tickets and issued an apology.

The circus stated, "It seems the conflict erupted over which elephant received more attention from the trainers," and added, "The lack of communication with the audience due to COVID-19 likely also contributed to the stress."

Experts speculated that the cause of the fight was a hierarchy dispute among the elephants.

Andrey Dementiev-Kornilov, a leading elephant trainer in Russia, said, "Elephants have a strictly matriarchal society, with the oldest female becoming the 'matriarch' (leader). While fights to establish hierarchy among elephants are rare, the fact that only female elephants are present in Russia likely had some influence."

The Tatarstan regional prosecutor's office has launched an investigation to verify the exact circumstances of the incident and whether there were any legal violations such as seat spacing.

The elephants, now calm, are reportedly resting.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.