"[4] On August 20, 1994, during a performance at Circus International in Honolulu, Hawaii, Tyke trampled and critically injured her groomer, Dallas Beckwith, throwing him around numerous times in the process.

Her trainer, Allen Campbell, attempted to rescue Beckwith and was subsequently knocked to the ground, dragged and crushed to death under the elephant's massive trunk.

A nearby police officer witnessed the rampage and fired multiple shots in the direction of Tyke, distracting her and causing her to flee away from Hirano.

Honolulu lawyer William Fenton Sink sued Cuneo on behalf of numerous plaintiffs, including young children, who suffered psychological trauma after witnessing the death of the elephant.

"[12] On behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands, Wageningen University conducted an investigation into the welfare of circus animals in 2008.

[15] In its January 2010 verdict on the case, brought against by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals et al., the Court ruled that evidence against the circus was "not credible with regard to the allegations.

"[16] In lieu of a USDA hearing, Feld Entertainment, Inc., the parent company of Ringling Bros., agreed to pay an unprecedented $270,000 fine for violations of the Animal Welfare Act that allegedly occurred between June 2007 and August 2011.

[17] A fourteen-year litigation against Ringling Bros. came to an end in 2014 when The Humane Society of the United States and a number of other animal rights groups paid a $16 million settlement to Feld Entertainment; however, the circus closed in May 2017 after a 146-year run when it experienced a steep decline in ticket sales a year after it discontinued its elephant act and sent its pachyderms to a reserve.

[20] Christian thrash metal band Tourniquet, known for its stance against animal abuse, wrote the song "86 Bullets" about Tyke for their 2012 album Antiseptic Bloodbath.