Josef Gärtner

From the list of elephant persons Family: Gärtner

Josef Gärtner
Josef Gärtner
Personal details
Spouse(s) - 1996 Irma Gärtner
Spouse(s) Chiara Medini-Gärtner
Country Croatia
Locations
Title owner -1996
Location at Josef Gärtners elephants in Yugoslavia
Biography details

Josef Gärtner , circus elephant trainer in Croatia

Born ? dead 1996 in France , daughter of elephant trainer Friedrich Gärtner and elephant trainer Anna Gärtner .

Affiliation with 2 elephants

1: Sabu (Sabi) (fatal attack) 2: Bimbo (attacked)

Casualties

2 casualties
  1. 1985: elephant trainer Josef Gärtner attacked by Bimbo. attacked Josef Gärtner several times during the spring and summer 1985. Josef Gärtner Survived. By Christmas the control was lost over the bull, and he could net be kept from attacking the other elephants.
  2. 1996: elephant trainer Josef Gärtner fatal attack by Sabu (Sabi). Killed Josef Gärtner during tour 1996 in Carpentras, France Josef Gärtner † Josef Gärtner Died 1996, Carpentras.


Josef Gärtner was a wild but a very funny guy, and one of the few who toured scandinavia for many years.

I first met him 1985, when he was touring Sweden with Circus Scott, and had a bull who eventually was in Musth, I believe he had actually three bulls at that time, all tuskers. During those years I saw no african, as far as I recall.

The circus had called the zoo in Stockholm where I was working, and asked for M-99, so our foreman asked us elephant guys to come down with him.

Bandages over his head, looking like some sort of Mumie, but laughing, Josef welcomed us with a large and warm smile, and took us to the bull. On the way he told us that when he openened the transport he had a hard blow from the Trunk, which made him sweep the ground several meters.

Josef was limping, but obviously not becasue of the bull, according to rumors some angry husband in Rome had shot him in the foot, during performance in the ring...

He managed to get the bull out, and tethered him on one chain, then he couldnt go near. So he took a tractor and tried to back him up as much as possible, so he could put a second chain on, but the bull made jam of the hydraulic system.

Our foreman gave the bull 50 Valium to calm down, and some other stuff I dont remembered, but no etorphine.

Next evening he was in the ring again, slowly walking with the penis dragging in the sawdust, and all different stories circulated, that he had forced the elephant to drink its own urine, in order to stop the Musth etc...

And yes, there was children everywhere, with different sizes of whips to match their small bodies, doing a symphony of cracks with different tones, like a Whip orchestra.

In fact the greatest bulls looked almost like a christmas tree due to Gärtners all descendants climbing on to everything not vertical on the elephant.

That elephant was shot in Gothenburg on new years eve 1985-86

Some years later he was in stockholm again on christmas circus, still with two bulls, and an enormous happy smile, telling stories about how he grew up, sleeping on blancets in the elephant tent, which they placed on spread elephant dung, in order to use the heat from the shit.

That was the last time I saw him.

Then in 1998, I trained an african elephant at a safari park in Italy for Vienna Zoo, and went to visit the touring Lydia Togni Circus, Vincengo Togni told me that they had bought 2 or 3 elephants from Circus Benneweiss in Denmark. (Eventually one of those who almost killed Kim Benneweiss)

After a couple of days the eles went out of hands, and made a catastrophe of the tent, and they called Gärtner, and a few hours later he was there with his truck.

And crack here, crack there, and a bang, and he closed the door after the elephants, and a relieved Togni saw him leave, and they repaired the tent.

Not one month later Gärtner was killed on a street in France, and as I heard, by one of the danish elephants, but this may be wrong?

So his kids was suddenly standing on the street and called mum and told her the elephant had killed dad.

Dan Koehl, 2008


Siblings

Siblings through the father Friedrich Gärtner (? -- ):

  1. Frank Gärtner Born ?
  2. Tony Gärtner Born ?
  3. Wilhelm Gärtner Born ?
  4. Rudolf Gärtner Born ?
  5. Katarina Gärtner Born ?

Josef Gärtner s ancestral Ahnentafel:
P I II III

Josef Gärtner
Born: ?

Father:
Friedrich Gärtner

Born: ?

Paternal Grandfather:


Born:
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Paternal Great-grandmother:
Paternal Grandmother:


Born:
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Paternal Great-grandmother:

Mother:
Anna

Born: ?

Maternal Grandfather:


Born:
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Maternal Great-grandmother:
Maternal Grandmother:


Born:
Maternal Great-grandfather:
Maternal Great-grandmother:


Reference list

References

Koehl, Dan, (2025). elephant trainer Josef Gärtner in Yugoslavia. Elephant Encyclopedia, available online retrieved 26 March 2025 at https://www.elephant.se/person.php?id=3302. (archived at the Wayback machine)

Sources used for this article is among others:


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Categories elephant trainer | circus | Josef Gärtner | Gärtner family | Born ? | Dead 1996 | People from Croatia


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