July 1: Louie the elephant is seen attacking animal trainer Don RedFox in the animal's stall at the Toledo Zoo. The RedFox was injured during the incident but approved the release of the video to show that the elephant had not been mistreated. (AP)
Toledo Zoo officials released video of an African elephant pinning his trainer in a corner of its cell and charging at the zookeeper, critically injuring the man, who has remained in a hospital since the July 1 attack.
Louie, a 7-year-old African elephant, is seen knocking down and attacking trainer Don RedFox after being startled by the man's arrival in the enclosure.
RedFox suffered two punctured lungs, several fractured ribs, internal bleeding and was kept on a ventilator after the attack, Fox Toledo reported.
The video, released Wednesday, shows the badly injured keeper stumbling out of the animal's cell, barely able to stand.
Zoo officials do not know exactly why Louie turned on his trainer, whom the elephant had known since birth. Zoo Director Anne Baker said it looked as though Louie was startled and began play-fighting like elephants do in the wild.
"We believe that if Louie's motivation had been to injure Don, he would not have allowed Don to leave," Baker said
RedFox and his family initially fought the video's release but allowed a temporary restraining order to expire in order to show that the animal wasn't mistreated, Fox Toledo reported
Click here for more on this story from Fox Toledo.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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