I don't know my US geography well enough and not in a mood to Google, but the incident I'm talking about was referred in one of the books written by an exotic animal vet David Taylor, some time around 1960s or so.
In it, they chained the elephant to skiis (which had floaters underneath; the elephant was reluctant to perform, hence the need for the chains). What brought the show to the end was too tight curve out in the sea; the skiis capsided, and because the elephant was tightly bound to the skiis, the floaters kept it under water, the locks were under water (so unlocking them couldn't happen), and the boat wasn't equipped with boltcutters or anything that could be used to release the elephant. So the unfortunate elephant drowned. :/
Well, according to the story I linked to above, the elephant enjoyed the skiing, and never fell in. Must be a different elephant. Or a different story.
Yep, likely to be a different elephant; it is possible that the elephant in question was inspired by that other elephant who liked doing it, since timeframe would match.
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Date: 2010-06-17 04:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2010-06-18 12:10 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-18 12:36 am (UTC)http://www.go386.com/go/2009/10/water-skiing-elephant-at-deleon-springs.html
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Date: 2010-06-18 08:03 am (UTC)In it, they chained the elephant to skiis (which had floaters underneath; the elephant was reluctant to perform, hence the need for the chains). What brought the show to the end was too tight curve out in the sea; the skiis capsided, and because the elephant was tightly bound to the skiis, the floaters kept it under water, the locks were under water (so unlocking them couldn't happen), and the boat wasn't equipped with boltcutters or anything that could be used to release the elephant. So the unfortunate elephant drowned. :/
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Date: 2010-06-18 03:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-18 03:48 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-28 11:19 am (UTC)