Hi Arthur
Thanks for that response. To be honest I was hoping the story would have been false, I'm disappointed Duke took it upon himself to shoot and elephant whether as part of a movie or for fun (if you can call it that). This is one of the few times I have ever criticised Duke but I don't think he should have shot that elephant, I didn't think such actions were even legal.
In the "Elephant Walk" scene where John Wayne scares off that elephant who
is menacing Elsa Martinelli by firing his rifle in the air at it, such is not what originally occurred in that scene it is my understanding. In an interview
for a shooting and hunting magazine Wayne related that as originally filmed he
actually killed that elephant, shooting it with the .458 Winchester Magnum rifle he is seen carrying in that scene. Director Howard Hawks wanted to make thisscene real Wayne remarked and had some of the locals stir up a small herd of elephants until they managed to get one to actually charge at him. Knowing itwas to be real the .458 Magnum rifle was loaded with live ammunition but also precautions had been taken to insure Wayne's safety in case of mishap (there was a jeep beside him with engine running and a driver, which Wayne was to jump into as it sped off to safety with him in it just in case his shot failed to stop that elephant). On cue Wayne was to shoot the elephant and stop or kill it with shots from that rifle; which he did much to his relief and that of the jeep driver. Afterwards though, fearing possible charges of wantonly killing an animal the producers reputedly had the scene edited, reshot, and changed to what it is now seen as. But according to that article and interview John Wayne did actually shoot and kill an elephant in the original filming of that scene, and not frighten or chase it off as we see him do in it now.
If memory serves me correctly, the article in which I read the account of
Wayne killing that elephant during the filming of "Hatari!" was from an earl-
ier interview with him that was reprinted in Guns Magazine during the summer of 1980. If you can find issues of this magazine from that period you will find that article in it along with a photo of John Wayne and the .458 Winchest-
er Magnum rifle he used to kill that elephant during the filming of that scene.
