Is that an elephant out walking? | Wairarapa News | Local News in Wairarapa

Masterton residents taking their usual afternoon stroll around Henley Lake got a jumbo-sized surprise yesterday.

Heads were turned for miles as Jumbo, the friendly 35-year-old African elephant in town with the Loritz Circus's Out Of Africa show, shuffled over to the side of the lake for a photo-shoot with the Times-Age.

The usually empty lot at the lake is temporarily home to Jumbo, providing the many Lakeview School pupils who walk down Colombo Road each school day with an enviable experience to share with their friends.

On the afternoon before, children had wasted no time finding a "Jumbo skip" full of hay behind his transporter truck and Jumbo wasted no time accepting it - twisting his trunk to reach the hay and politely stretching it out to ask for more. Most of the children said they'd never seen an elephant before, especially one that arrived unexpectedly so close to their walk home.

Tony Radcliffe, her handler of 30 years, said she had the same jaw-dropping effect everywhere she went: "Yes, she's a pretty big attraction all right."