A seven-year-old school girl recently died at a zoo in Morocco after
being struck on the head by a huge rock hurled at her by an elephant.
The girl’s dad had lifted her up on his shoulders outside the elephant
enclosure so her mum could take a snap of the two of them with their
back to the animals when she was struck.
The female elephant, named Assia, picked up a large
stone in its trunk, threw it into the air and it hit the little girl on
the back of her head. She was knocked unconscious and later died in a
nearby hospital after failing to overcome her injuries.
A zoo spokesman offered his condolences to the girl’s family but said
there had been no security breaches and she had not crossed into a
protective area outside the enclosure. He said, “Accidents of this type
are rare, unforeseeable and unusual.”