Jun 28, 1966 - Madison, WI
3-year-old Ruth Freeman crawled under the gate of an outer fence, then was pulled through the bars of the elephant cage, by Winkie the elephant.
Winkie lifted the squirming girl high into the air and, with one whip-like motion, slammed her against the ground, then stepped on her a few times.
The elephant was quickly retired to Wildlife Safari. In 1981, a young bull elephant made the mistake of trying to engage Winkie in horseplay.
The 1,600-pound Tanga was sent flying through the air with a bat of her head, and broke two bones in his front leg.
Zoo employees fortified Winkie's old pen to make it impossible to pull a child through the bars. Then a replacement elephant was found in Burma.
For some reason, they named this female Asian elephant "Winkie Too" Prophetic, because Winkie Too also had a violent streak and, in 1977, charged
a zoo employee, knocked her down, then kicked and stepped on her. The employee managed to scramble to safety. Winkie Too then attacked her trainer
and vet in 1999. Animal activists demanded Winkie Too be moved from the zoo to a better environment, and in 2000, Winkie Too was transported to the
2,600-acre Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee. In July 2006 Winkie Too killed one of her female handlers. The 7,600lb Asian elephant either
kicked or stepped on the woman, and also injured a male trainer who tried to help the woman.
Winkie arrived at the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison in 1950 as a replacement for Annie the Elephant, who died in 1948 of an infected
foot. Area children collected $3,500 in pennies, nickels and dimes to purchase Winkie, and more than 500 kids witnessed her arrival.
Ruth Ellen Freeman (3) - Princeton, NJ
Winkie - 23-year-old Indian elephant
