Micki the elephant a big hit in the big top

EVEN a jumbo jet has to dip its wings occasionally and bow to the superiority of sea travel, particularly if a Very Important Passenger weighs in at over two and a half tonnes.

When it came to bringing Europe’s largest elephant to Ireland, Fossetts circus were not about to take any chances. They made sure that their latest acquisition, Micki the African elephant, got royal treatment on board the Stena Line ship and family members were there to greet her yesterday when she sailed into Dublin port.

“The sheer scale of Micki has to be seen to be appreciated,” said Fossetts’ marketing manager Charles O’Brien. “Audiences really enjoy elephant acts and we have had some very good ones in the past. But the sheer scale of Micki amazes them. You can hear people gasp whenever she enters the ring.”

Micki will perform with the circus for the season until the end of November under the guidance of her trainer Diana Rhodin from Sweden.

“Micki loves performing,” said Charles. “You can see that she gets a real kick out of it. People will be blown away when they see her.”

Any airline would probably have been blown away, too, if she had turned up at the check-in desk. She would have had no problem breaking Ryanair’s miserly luggage allowance even without any luggage. But, then, she doesn’t need any luggage. Micki has her own trunk.