Workers and residents alike were stunned to look out their windows and see not one but two Indian elephants taking a snow bath on the streets of the Russian city of Ekaterinburg on Thursday.
The star performers of a visiting Italian circus, 45-year-old Carla and 50-year-old Roni, couldn’t resist taking a stroll in the -5C air and frolicking in the snow in the city before their days-long drive to Saint Petersburg, having broken away from their trainers during a well-earned break.
As eyewitness video shows, locals and staff joined forces using ropes to wrangle the pachyderms back into their pens but not until after they had enjoyed a quick stroll around the Eurasian city.
“The elephants have their own character and emotions, they are very smart,” the circus said in an online statement.
“They walked outside and got very happy from seeing the snow, the trees and the pedestrians whom they took for spectators. Roni stayed by one of the trees while Carla walked towards a pile of snow.”
The pair of pachyderms belong to the Togni family, the self-proclaimed oldest circus dynasty in Italy, who have brought Carla and Roni on a 16,000km (9,950 mile) journey earlier this year to perform on tour, after circus animals were banned in Italy.
“We love our animals a lot, they are our family,” said circus art director and host Sergey Bondarchuk. “They too love the circus, they get bored without work. Our animals will live and die with us, they won’t survive in the wild.”
The elephants were eventually coaxed into returning to the circus without any injury or damage to property.
