"Ringling Elephants Perform Last Show, End 145-Year Run"

"Ringling's final 11 performing elephants marched into arenas for the last time Sunday in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and Providence, R.I., ending a 145-year-old tradition of the giant pachyderms taking part in the big top."

"WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — When the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus' performers spin, twirl, jump and sparkle in the colored spotlights, David Orr, 77, turns his attention elsewhere — to the mesmerized children who pack the stands, many waiting to see an elephant for the first time.Orr was once one of those children. He experienced his first Ringling circus in 1946 in Columbus, Ohio, where he picked up a habit he couldn't kick. In 70 years, he's missed just two seasons. 'It's the way I kept sane,' he said. 'I would run away to the circus for a few days.'

Now he'll have to continue the circus streak without his beloved elephants. Ringling's final 11 performing elephants marched into arenas for the last time Sunday in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and Providence, R.I., ending a 145-year-old tradition of the giant pachyderms taking part in the big top.

Ringling bowed to pressure as state and local rules placed more restrictions on the circus' use of exotic animals and the bullhook trainers use to control the animals. The move followed decades of protests by animal rights activists."

Katharine Lackey reports for USA TODAY May 2, 2016.