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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Tiffany Lo

'Skeletal' baby elephant dies after legs break while it performs tricks at zoo

A baby elephant has died after he broke his back legs while performing tricks at a Thai zoo.

The two-year-old calf, named Dumbo by volunteers at a campaign group called Moving Animals, was 'forced to rave' for the tourists.

In a distressing footage that went viral last month, Dumbo was made to kick around a soccer ball, twirl hula-hoops and even balance on podiums.

He suffered the catastrophic injuries when his front legs became stuck in a puddle of mud while performing at Phuket Zoo on April 14.

The elephant's back legs broke under the huge pressure as he tried to hold himself up.

Sadly, Dumbo was left untreated for three days.

When he was sent to a veterinary hospital, he was found to have an infection that caused him to have diarrhea and other health complications.

A vet who helped treat Dumbo said the elephant's body was not absorbing nutrients as it should, which made him very weak, reported PETA.

He died a short time later.

Moving Animals is now urging tourists to never pay to see animals in captivity.

Amy Jones, co-founder of the campaign group, said: "This is a tragic and horrific end to Dumbo's heartbreakingly-short life.

Animals in zoo are under great stress when they are being forced to perform tricks (EPA)

"For Dumbo to die whilst under the so-called 'care' and 'treatment' of the zoo shows just how neglected these animals are in captivity.

"No animals deserves to repeat Dumbo's tragic story."

Moving Animals earlier launched a petition and called for all animal lovers to help close Phuket Zoo.

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