Stuffed elephant at the Auckland Museum. The story behind the elephant is that in the early 20th Century, the elephant was acquired by the Auckland Zoo and was supposed to give elephant rides to children. When it turned out that the elephant was not tame enough to give rides, the zoo decided they had no use for an elephant who would not give rides to children, so one of the zookeepers executed the elephant. He was then stuffed so he could be a museum exhibit. Can you imagine this happening at one of our zoos today?

Stuffed elephant at the Auckland Museum. The story behind the elephant is that in the early 20th Century, the elephant was acquired by the Auckland Zoo and was supposed to give elephant rides to children. When it turned out that the elephant was not tame enough to give rides, the zoo decided they had no use for an elephant who would not give rides to children, so one of the zookeepers executed the elephant. He was then stuffed so he could be a museum exhibit. Can you imagine this happening at one of our zoos today?