Allen Campbell (December 30, 1956 – August 20, 1994) was an American zookeeper and elephant trainer and handler in his hometown of

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

before moving to work in the Baton Rouge Zoo in the mid-1970s as the elephant keeper and trainer.

Background

In 1986, Campbell was contracted to run the elephant ride and provide a baby elephant mascot for the

Denver Zoo Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance is an nonprofit zoological garden and wildlife conservation, conservation organization located in City Park, Denver, City Park of Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1896, it is operated by the Denver Zoo ...

. He worked as an elephant consultant for many zoos including the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. He eventually worked as an elephant trainer for The Hawthorn Corporation.

Death

Campbell was crushed to death on August 20, 1994, at the

Neal S. Blaisdell Center The Neal S. Blaisdell Center is a community center near downtown Honolulu, Hawaii. The complex has a multi-purpose arena, concert hall, exhibition hall, galleria, meeting rooms, Waikiki Shell and others. Constructed in 1964 on the historic W ...

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, after attempting to save co-worker Dallas Beckwith from the performing elephant Tyke, who had run amok. Campbell's autopsy revealed that he had cocaine in his system, which he had obtained from another animal trainer friend of his also in the circus as well as alcohol at the time of his death.Sahagun, Louis
Elephants Pose Giant Dangers
, The

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

, published October 11, 1994, accessed December 26, 2007. Officials at the Denver Zoo confirm that Campbell was the subject of complaints in the late 1980s that he abused zoo elephants while running an elephant and camel ride concession in Denver.

References

1956 births 1994 deaths Accidental deaths in Hawaii American circus performers Deaths due to animal attacks in the United States Deaths due to elephant attacks People from Jacksonville, Florida American zookeepers Elephant trainers {{US-entertainer-stub