Anna May
Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) at
Riddles Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary in United States

Biography

☨ ♀ Anna May


Alternative name:	May

Identification

SSP nr	605

Description
Species:	Asian elephant (Elephas maximus)
Sex and age:	Female ♀ 57 years old

People killed:	1: Mary Herman, 30, a friend of Ben Williams
Origin
Born:	* 1947 wild
Birth place:	in Asia unspecified location
Death
Dead:	†2004-12-21
Death reason:	unknown:
Locations - owners
Present / last location:	Riddles Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary, in United States

Date of arrival

2004-05-21	Riddles Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary from Woodcocks’s elephant act

1966-00-00	Woodcocks’s elephant act from Smokey Jones (Robert Jones)

1964-00-00	Smokey Jones (Robert Jones) from William H. Woodcock

1951-00-00	William H. Woodcock from Kelly Miller Circus

1950-00-00	Kelly Miller Circus from Polack Brothers Circus

Record history
History of updates	2020-11-03

Latest document update	2025-03-15 06:26:27
Google map

† Anna May is a dead Female ♀ Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), , who died 2004-12-21 at Riddles Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary, in United States, .

Affiliated people

1: William "Buckles" Woodcock (owner from 1966 to 2004)

1: Ben Williams (trainer from 1958 to 2001 )

Casualties

1 casualties

1982-09-13: visitor Mary Herman fatal attack by Anna May. swatted the woman with her trunk, killing her † Mary Herman Died 1982-09-13, near a Wisconsin Rapids restaurant. Mary Herman, 30, a friend of elephant trainer Ben Williams, was found dead of a "crushing-type injury," on Sept. 13 in a bushy area near a Wisconsin Rapids restaurant.

Origin

Anna May was born wild 1947 at Asia unspecified location.

Comments / pictures

"I have told the story many times of how we came into possession of "Anna May". D.R. Miller ordered three baby elephants for the Miller-Woodcock elephant act in 1951 and after they arrived at the NY Central Park Zoo, my dad flew up from the show to check them out. Unfortunately, one had a crippled hind leg and he only returned with two, "Fannie" and "Lydia". The act was already booked with Siebrand Shows for the following season so D.R. relucantly let him borrow "Anna May" and the rest is History.
Williams Buckles Woodcock

Before audiences ranging from Madison Square Garden to the Ed Sullivan Show and the Hollywood Palace, Mr. Williams coaxed Anna May - billed as the "world's smartest performing elephant" - through hoof- and headstands, playing the tambourine, carrying people in her mouth or serving as a springboard for leopards. It was a bond for the ages. But in 1982, a bizarre incident nearly dissolved the partnership with Anna May and ended Mr. Williams' career.

The body of Mary Herman, 30, a friend of Mr. Williams', was found dead of a "crushing-type injury," authorities in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., said. Authorities charged Mr. Williams and another trainer with first-degree murder.

They later found the real culprit was Anna May, who had been startled by Herman's visit to her trailer. Anna May swatted the woman with her trunk, killing her. Authorities dropped the charges, even though Mr. Williams admitted hiding the body.

"He was afraid they were going to kill the elephant," said Buckles Woodcock, 74. "He carried that with him."

Reference list

References

Koehl, Dan, (2025). Anna May, Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) located at Riddles Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary in United States. Elephant Encyclopedia, available online retrieved 1 April 2025 at https://www.elephant.se/database2.php?elephant_id=1704. (archived at the Wayback machine)

Sources used for this article is among others:

Litterature about Riddles Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary

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Links

Relevant links

Internal relevant links

elephant mankillers, elephants that has killed humans. List of elephant mankillers
More elephants from: Riddles Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary
More elephants from: United States
More elephants that was born: 1947
More elephants that died: 2004-12-21
All breeding cows
All breeding bulls
The elephant database startpage. Statistics
List of all captive born elephants in the database

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