A 65-year-old man has been killed by an elephant that ran away from a circus in southwest Germany.
The unnamed pensioner was taking his regular morning walk through woods near Buchen when the 34-year-old animal, called Baby, trampled him to death.
Police said he was killed instantly.
The female African elephant was later captured and returned to the circus.
Heidelberg police spokeswoman Yvonne Schmierer said officers are investigating whether Baby was deliberately let out of her enclosure, and why she attacked the man.
"There's evidence of third party involvement," she said. "Either someone forgot to shut the enclosure, or the elephant was released intentionally."
German news agency DPA said the elephant has a history of injuring people.
In October 2012, she broke a 12-year-old boy's jaw when she struck him with her trunk at a circus in Burladingen.
Two years before that, she seriously injured a man in Leutkirch by throwing him in the air.
Animal rights group PETA has called for authorities to take the elephant away from the circus.
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