of Maine has died after one of the animals stepped on him, police have
said.
Vet James Laurita, 56, had fallen at the barn of Hope Elephants.
Officials ruled his death an accident.
He established the home with his brother in 2011, decades after he
worked as an elephant handler at a travelling circus.
Hope Elephants' board said it was "deeply saddened" by the loss.
"Jim's passion for all animals, but especially elephants, was
boundless," they said in a statement in which they asked for privacy
for his family.
Laurita also worked with elephants at the Bronx Zoo and at Wildlife
Safari in Oregon, according to the Portland Press-Herald newspaper.
On Tuesday, Maine officials found Laurita unresponsive at the
facility, 87 miles (140km) north-east of Portland.
He had apparently fallen and struck his head on a concrete floor
before an elephant stepped on his chest.
"The elephant was not aggressive in any way. It was clearly an
accident," said Mark Belserene, of the Maine state medical examiner's
office.
Mr Belserene added Laurita's official cause of death was "asphyxiation
and multiple fractures caused by compression of the chest".
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