GIRL’S DEATH HAS ZOO SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS

Experts at a zoo in the Moroccan capital of Rabat are trying to understand why an elephant hurled a stone in the direction of visitors, killing a 7-year-old girl.

The behaviour of the female elephant was “abnormal,” a veterinarian at the zoo said Friday.

The girl was visiting the Zoological Garden of Rabat with family on Tuesday, admiring three elephants when one picked up a stone, then tossed it more than 10 metres over a huge ditch and a wooden barrier. The girl was struck in the head and died hours later.

The exhibit has been temporarily closed, zoo veterinarian Abderahim Salhi said. He said that personnel remained in shock at what he called an “unforeseeable accident.”

“The behaviour ... of any animal is very complex,” he said, “and wild animals are unpredictable. We are all surprised. “

“We are very sad at what happened, but it would be wrong to blame the elephant. This was not premeditated,” said Salma Slimani, in charge of zoo administration.