Inspection Detail

Inspection: 305105371 - The Zoological Society Of Pittsburgh

Inspection Information - Office: Pittsburgh Area Office

Inspection Nr: 305105371

Report ID: 0317500

Date Opened: 11/19/2002

Site Address:
The Zoological Society Of Pittsburgh
One Wild Place
Pittsburgh, PA 15206

Mailing Address:
, , 00000

Union Status: Union

SIC:8422

NAICS: 0

Inspection Type: Accident

Scope: Partial

Advanced Notice: N

Ownership: Private

Safety/Health: Health

Close Conference: 12/16/2002

Emphasis:

Case Closed: 12/16/2002

Related Activity
Type	Activity Nr	Safety	Health
Accident	361946262

Investigation Summary

Investigation Nr: 14326433

Event: 11/18/2002

Employee killed when crushed by zoo elephant

On November 18, 2002, during the course of a normal daily walk for a female elephant and her calf, the mother elephant refused to continue along the path of the walk. When Employee #1, the elephant keeper, attempted to prompt her along with an ankus, she turned towards the keeper and had worked him along a hillside. Employee #1 lost his footing on an accumulation of slippery leaves. The elephant at that point started to drive Employee #1 into the ground with her head and speared him with her tusk. She continued to attack Employee #1 by kicking him and driving him into the ground with her head. Other keepers were alerted and diverted the elephant away onto paths secured by zoo vehicles. Both elephants were lead back to their barns by vegetation and produce being thrown from the back of zoo vehicles. Employee #1 died of crushing injuries to the chest.

Keywords: CHEST, ELEPHANT, ANIMAL HANDLER, CRUSHED, CONTUSION

Investigated Inspection
#	Inspection	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation
1	305105371			Fatality	Bruise/Contus/Abras	Occupation not reported

Thank You for Visiting Our Website

You are exiting the Department of Labor's Web server.

The Department of Labor does not endorse, takes no responsibility for, and exercises no control over the linked organization or its views, or contents, nor does it vouch for the accuracy or accessibility of the information contained on the destination server. The Department of Labor also cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked Web sites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked Web site. Thank you for visiting our site. Please click the button below to continue.