Investigators say elephant inflicted 'intentional blow' on caretaker

State wildlife officials and the Knoxville Zoo agree on what happened when an elephant killed its handler last month - but not on why.

The dispute boils down to a single word.

A Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency report calls the attack "intentional."

Zoo officials say that's impossible to know.

"They don't know the mind of an elephant," Director Jim Vlna said Tuesday. "This was an accident. We don't know what was going through the elephant's mind that day, and we never will."

Stephanie Elaine James, 33, died Jan. 14 of internal injuries suffered when Edie, a 27-year-old African elephant, pushed her into the bars of a stall in the Stokely African Elephant Preserve barn during the evening feeding. Her death made her the first person killed by an elephant at a zoo in Tennessee, authorities said.

A TWRA investigation that wrapped up this month found the zoo did nothing wrong. James and fellow elephant handler Todd Naelitz followed all recommended safety procedures and in no way provoked the elephant to attack, according to the report.

"The zoo has no record of either Todd or Stephanie failing to follow the established guidelines," Wildlife Officer Joe Durnin wrote. "Both were consistent in adhering to the guidelines. ... Investigation has identified no apparent stimulus that precipitated the action by the elephant."

An autopsy and witness accounts show James died "due to an intentional blow," Durnin wrote. That's where the zoo and the agency disagree.

"TWRA's report substantiates what we've said," Vlna said. "But intentional is a word that I don't know that you can say. Only Edie knows her intention. Whatever it was, it won't change the result. Everyone is still mourning the loss of Stephanie. Any staff we bring on is going to be trained in a different way."

Durnin couldn't be reached Tuesday. The TWRA investigation focused on whether the zoo followed state requirements for keeping wild animals.

Naelitz, the fellow elephant handler, told TWRA investigators he and James had brought out evening treats for Edie and Jana, another elephant, around 4:30 p.m. in their stalls in the Stokely barn. James fed Edie, and Naelitz fed Jana.

Naelitz walked back to Edie's stall and got within 15 feet of the elephant "when he saw Edie's eyes widen and then saw her lunge forward into Stephanie," according to the report. "Stephanie was pinned between Edie and a bar in the back interior corner of the stall."

Naelitz called Edie's name, and the elephant backed up as James' fellow zoo workers ran to her aid. James died that night.

Edie had no history of violent behavior, according to the zoo, and Naelitz said he'd noticed nothing out of the ordinary that day. Handlers had trouble with the elephant only twice before, according to the report - neither case serious.

James had reported she either stumbled or bumped into Edie - "she wasn't sure which" - and fell while walking the elephant in November. She wasn't hurt. A former handler reported a similar instance in 2006.

Handlers have dealt with Edie in protected contact, meaning keepers tend to her only through bars or other barriers, since James' death. Vlna, the zoo director, said he expects that policy will continue while the zoo awaits the findings of an independent, four-member panel appointed to review the case.

"We're more than likely going to stick with that," he said.

James' death also remains under routine review by the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration, investigating whether the zoo followed proper safety protocols for its workers, and by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, investigating whether the attack resulted from any mistreatment or neglect of the elephant.

Authorities said they know of just two other people killed by elephants in Tennessee in the past century - neither at zoos.

The zoo plans to establish a memorial to James later, Vlna said.