Elephant badly burned by Napalm during Vietnam War is found running loose in upstate New York after escaping an animal sanctuary when an electric fence was turned off
- A 46-year-old elephant is home after she escaped from an animal sanctuary
- Troopers found it Sunday night wandering around in Westtown, New York
- The sanctuary admitted they had accidentally switched off the electric fence surrounding the elephant’s enclosure
- Fritha the elephant is from Vietnam and was badly burned by napalm, a chemical found in bombs, during the war
An elephant that was burned by napalm during the Vietnam War has been returned to its upstate New York animal sanctuary after it took an unexpected late-night stroll.
State police say they got a call about a runaway elephant in Westtown on Sunday night.
Officers quickly traced the wild animal back to Sanctuary for Animals in Westtown, who admitted that Fritha the elephant had escaped after the electric fence around her enclosure was accidentally switched off.
An elephant managed to escape from an upstate New York animal sanctuary on Sunday night after the electric fence that kept her penned inside was accidentally switched off
Troopers found the elephant on Sunday night wandering around in Westtown, New York
The scene looked like something out of the Vietnam jungle but it was in fact upstate New York
‘Never a dull moment,’ New York State Police wrote in a Facebook posting along with photographs that showed the animal being caught.
The scene looked like something out of the Vietnam jungle rather than upstate New York.
Amanda Brook, whose family owns the sanctuary, tells the Times Herald-Record that the 46-year-old Asian elephant named Fritha has lived at the sanctuary most of her life.
Of all the sights you expect to see travelling along New York State country roads, this isn’t it
The elephant is from Vietnam and was badly burned by napalm, a chemical found in bombs, during the war
‘It’s not a common occurrence,’ said Babatte Corelli, a member of the family that owns the sanctuary. ‘It wasn’t a horrible mistake. It was just human error.’
The sanctuary also runs Dawn Animal Agency, which provides animals for movies, commercials and talk shows.
Asian elephants can live for as long as 50 years whereas their African counterparts can have a lifespan as long as 70.
‘It’s not a common occurrence,’ said Babatte Corelli, pictured, a member of the family that owns the sanctuary. ‘It wasn’t a horrible mistake. It was just human error’
The New York State police noted how unusual the whole event was as they rescued the animal
The 46-year-old elephant has lived at the sanctuary for years after coming from Vietnam
Here is how Fritha usually looks when not wandering around the New York countryside