A group of circus elephants destroyed more than 30 trees and other plants while grazing in a forested area of Petrozavodsk, a city in Russia's northwestern region, local authorities announced on Wednesday in a statement published on the city's official website.
According to the statement, the animals are responsible for devastating 255 square meters of vegetation during a walk in an area reserved to them. The animals were performing at the city's Lotus Plaza entertainment center in the “Show of the Giant Elephants.” Local residents filed a request to the authorities in response to the episode, aiming to persuade the local administration to better protect the woodland area surrounding the center, the statement reads.
The site notes that a wide variety of plants, including 3 coniferous and 3 birch trees as well as a more than 30 overgrown alders, aspens and willows, were affected by the passage of the elephants.
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