The co-founder of an American facility that cares for retired circus elephants has been crushed to death by one of the animals, which stepped on him.
Police found veterinarian James Laurita, 56, unresponsive in a barn at the Hope Elephants foundation in the US state of Maine, on Tuesday.
His death has been ruled an accident.
Laurita appears to have fallen before one of the foundation's two elephants apparently stepped on him.
"The elephant was not aggressive in any way. It was clearly an accident," said Mark Belserene, administrator for the state medical examiner's office.
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Belserene says the official cause of death is "asphyxiation and multiple fractures caused by compression of the chest".
Tending to the animals was part of Laurita's daily routine at the facility he founded with his brother Tom in 2011.
Hope Foundation's two Asian elephants, Rosie and Opal, arrived in 2012.
Laurita had worked with Opal and Rosie decades ago when he was an elephant handler for the travelling Carson & Barnes Circus.
