African elephant involved in deadly zoo incident will not be punished

Edie the African elephant will not be disciplined or punished for an incident that resulted in the death of a handler, the director of the Knoxville Zoo said Saturday.

Stephanie James was fatally injured in the elephant barn while working with another keeper Friday afternoon. Zoo Director James Vlna held a press conference Saturday and described the events to reporters.

Vlna said that Edie, one of the zoo's female African elephants, pushed James into the side of a stall. The keeper was following established protocol when the accident occurred, according to Vlna, and Edie was not behaving aggressively.

After the incident, the elephant obeyed a command from another handler to move back and was secured in an adjacent stall.

Emergency personnel were called to the scene, and James was transferred to the University of Tennessee Medical Center. She died there Friday afternoon as a result of internal injuries, Vlna said.

Stephanie's father, Ron, spoke to CNN affiliate WISH. His daughter had always loved animals, Ron said, and had worked with them since high school. She began working with elephants in 2009, and even gave the family some prints painted by the elephants at the zoo, he said.

Her father was shocked about what happened, and amazed that he had talked with his daughter about the dangers of working with elephants so recently. Ron James said they discussed the risks over the Christmas holidays.

"She was so concerned with safety," he told WISH. "That was her first priority ... safety."

All three of the Knoxville Zoo's African elephants will be kept in "protected contact" until an independent review is conducted, Vlna told reporters Friday, which means they'll be handled through a barrier.

The review will be conducted by representatives from the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA).

Vlna expressed sympathy for the James family and commended Knoxville Zoo staff and employees for their strength and professionalism. A chaplain was available for staff members on Friday.