circus

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Escaped Circus Elephant Goes Exploring in Montana Town

Viola the Asian elephant, spooked by a car backfire, was later reunited with her mate

(Newser) - An elephant literally wandered the streets of Butte, Montana, on Tuesday before she was returned to the circus from which she escaped. The pachyderm had quite the adventure, carefully treading across multi-lane roads, visiting the parking lot of a casino, leaving what NBC Montana calls "a surprise" on a...

Day at the Circus Turns Chaotic: 'Everyone Started Running'
Screams as Circus Bear
Attacks Its Trainer
VIDEO
Oct 25, 2019 8:45 AM CDT

Screams as Circus Bear Attacks Its Trainer

Performance was taking place in Olonets, Russia

(Newser) - Spectators at a Russian circus performance got more than they bargained for this week when a bear abruptly attacked its trainer during the show. NBC News and the AP report the incident took place in Olonets on Wednesday, during what appeared to be a calm scene up until the moment...

Robot Dog May Have a Future in the Circus

Cirque de Soliel is in talks with Boston Dynamics

(Newser) - Animal-like robots that started out as a military-funded research project might be shipped off to the circus instead of the battlefield. Cirque du Soleil says it's in talks with robot maker Boston Dynamics about using the four-legged Spot robot in its live shows, the AP reports. The agile robots...

Circus Wants Its Electric Chair, Bed of Nails Back

Thief made off with trailer full of props

(Newser) - If somebody you know recently came into possession of a bed of nails, a coffin, an electric chair, and assorted other strange items, they didn't get them at the Addams Family's garage sale. The props, used for acts of daring, were in a black Homestead Challenger trailer stolen...

Jaws Drop as Circus Finds Way to Ditch Live Animals

Circus Roncalli is breaking new ground

(Newser) - Go to the Circus Roncalli, and you'll see animals—like a floating ring of horses and an oversized goldfish swimming right by. Sound unreal? You're right. The German production uses 3-D holograms at a time when activists and governments are cracking down on cruelty to animals in circuses,...

7 Injured by Startled Pittsburgh Circus Camel

2 kids, 1 adult were riding it at the time

(Newser) - Seven people, most of them children, were injured when a startled camel started bucking during a Pittsburgh circus. Two children and an adult were riding the camel during an intermission Sunday at the Shrine Circus at PPG Paints Arena when it became startled, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. The newspaper says...

Circus Truck Crash Causes Animal Welfare Outcry

Spain accident kills 1 elephant, injures 4

(Newser) - Authorities in southern Spain say an elephant has died and four others are recovering from injuries after a circus truck tipped over on a major highway, provoking an outcry among animal rights defenders. The truck overturned on Monday on the highway linking Albacete with Murcia after overtaking another long vehicle,...

Tiger Escapes Circus, Roams Streets of Paris

It was fatally shot by circus employees Friday night

(Newser) - A tiger was killed Friday in Paris after escaping from a circus in the 15th arrondissement and wandering the streets near the Eiffel Tower, the BBC reports. Residents called emergency services to report the tiger just before 6pm. According to the New York Daily News , the tiger ended up on...

'Greatest Show on Earth' Takes Its Final Bow

Ringling Bros. performs last show in New York

(Newser) - The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus that has wowed crowds for 146 years with its "Greatest Show on Earth" is taking its final bow on Sunday. The circus' last show at the Nassau County Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, is sold out, and former circus performers will...

Ringling Elephants Taking an Early Retirement Package

Touring pachyderms will head to Florida in May instead of waiting for 2018

(Newser) - The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is ending its elephant acts a year and a half early and will retire all of its touring elephants in May. The move comes amid increasing scrutiny on circus elephant acts, with local governments passing "anti-circus" and "anti-elephant" ordinances in...

Zebras Flee Philly Circus
 Zebras Flee Philly Circus 
Nov 16, 2015 12:11 AM CST

Zebras Flee Philly Circus

Cops recapture them after chase through city streets

(Newser) - When you hear hoofbeats, the saying goes, you should think horses, not zebras. In Philadelphia on Sunday, you would have been wrong. A pair of zebras escaped from a circus and went running through the streets of west Philly before they were recaptured, police say. The two animals somehow fled...

Dad Died Trying to Save Daughter in Circus Disaster

NH investigation focuses on tent permits

(Newser) - The two people killed in Monday's circus tent collapse in New Hampshire have been identified as a Vermont father and his young daughter—and from what investigators say, it sounds as if their deaths could have been prevented. New Hampshire Fire Marshal William Degnan says Robert Young, 41, and...

Elephants Rescue Stranded Truck in Louisiana

They pushed to stop big rig toppling over

(Newser) - Two circus elephants being taken from New Orleans to Dallas helped out instead of making a break for freedom when the 18-wheeler carrying them ran into trouble. Police in Natchitoches Parish, La., say they received a call about a stranded truck on Interstate 49 and when they arrived, they were...

Circus 'Pandas' Were Really Painted Dogs

Chow chow pups were being used in traveling circus

(Newser) - With more paint and a couple of horses, they could have had zebras, too: A pair of chow chow puppies dyed black and white looked enough like pandas to fool visitors to a traveling circus near Milan, officials in Italy say. Forestry officials—who investigate many animal cases in Italy—...

Mexico Lawmakers Ban Circus Animals
Mexico Lawmakers
Ban Circus Animals
Dec 12, 2014 3:30 PM CST

Mexico Lawmakers Ban Circus Animals

Overwhelming vote aimed at fighting mistreatment of animals

(Newser) - Mexico's congress has passed legislation to ban the use of animals in circuses across the country. The lower chamber's vote yesterday followed one earlier in the week by the Senate and came six months after Mexico City passed a similar ban that is to go into effect next...

Dubai Won't Let In World's Most Pierced Man

The horned, heavily pierced German couldn't get through customs

(Newser) - The German IT worker who lays claim to the world's most piercings with 453 —most of which are on his face and genitals—is also claiming he couldn't get through customs on his way to a night club in Dubai due to officials worrying he might be...

Only One of Injured Acrobats Can Walk

Samantha Pitard says she wants to perform again

(Newser) - Only one of the acrobats who fell during a circus act last weekend has been released, and she wants back in the ring—but the others may not perform or even walk again, the AP reports. Their 20-foot fall during a hair-hanging act left several in intensive care, with injuries...

9 Ringling Acrobats Hurt in Fall

Performers dropped between 25 and 40 feet

(Newser) - Nine acrobats were seriously injured today after falling 25 to 40 feet from an aerial platform during a circus performance, a safety official said. The accident happened at around 11:45am during the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus' Legends show at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence. Providence...

Circus Elephants Escape, Go on Mini Rampage

At least 2 vehicles damaged after they slip handlers at Moolah Shrine Circus

(Newser) - Three circus elephants got a little taste of freedom and hooliganism yesterday when they apparently slipped their handlers at Moolah Shrine Circus and went on a mini rampage in a St. Louis parking lot, reports StLToday.com . At least two vehicles were damaged, though one witness makes it sound more...

Woman Walks Into Bathroom, Meets Tiger

Needless to say, Jenna Krehbiel was surprised

(Newser) - A central Kansas woman got quite a surprise when she walked into the bathroom at the Isis Shrine Circus in Salina: A tiger was standing just two feet from her. The big cat had escaped briefly after its turn in the ring Saturday; staff members blocked off the concourses at...

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