Ringling's Elephants Add Stomp To Downtown Traffic

Tribune photo by JIM REED

Elephants walk from Union Station through downtown Tampa on Monday to the St. Petersburg Times Forum as the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus comes to town.

By TRIBUNE STAFF | Tbo.com
Published: January 05, 2009
Updated: January 05, 2009 - 8:18 PM

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TAMPA --

Downtown Tampa motorists could be forgiven for doing a double-take Monday afternoon.

The normal routine of cars, trucks and SUVs were replaced for a while by a parade of pachyderms - more commonly known as elephants - on their way to the St. Petersburg Times Forum.

The elephant walk is a standard promotional gimmick for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus, which opens this week. The elephants were unloaded at the railroad tracks next to Union Station and made their way through downtown and Channelside on their way to the back of the arena.

The parade featured horses and other circus workers, but, as always, the elephants were the main attraction.

This year's show is called Zing, Zang, Zoom and runs from Wednesday through Sunday.