EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Kay, Evansville's first zoo elephant, fan-fared though the city on June 14, 1929, at a parade attended by thousands. 

The Asian elephant arrived from Burma and was an instant hit with Evansville residents. The zoo immediately hired a trainer, and the 5-year-old elephant astonished zoo patrons by performing circus tricks. 

Newspaper reports first stated Kay was bright and happy to be at the zoo. Over time, Kay's described personality changed from happy to "playful" — but what they really meant by "playful" was really more dangerous. Kay was restless; she refused to sleep for days and shook her cage to the point where the sliding door rollers were dislodged.

Twenty-five years after Kay arrived in Evansville, she attacked her longtime trainer and then-Mesker Zoo director Bob McGraw. McGraw suffered severe internal injuries -- his pelvis crushed. 

McGraw died. And the one-time beloved zoo animal soon just disappeared after being sold by the Parks Board.

So what happened to Kay? 

USI instructor Erin Gibson sought to find out in a film — "Two Elephants" — that premieres Friday and Saturday.

"I did not appreciate allowing Kay to fade into history. I wanted to know the rest of her story," Gibson said.

Years ago, she heard a horrific secondhand story about Kay's life after Mesker Zoo. So naturally, Gibson started researching and combing through databases, circus blogs and Evansville newspaper archives to piece together Kay's story. 

"I found a reference to Kay dying in the Evansville Courier, but the information in the article was sketchy. (The community) didn't learn about her death for many months after she died," Gibson said.

She continued to dig through internet sources and newspaper archives, and then one day, everything clicked.

"I remember when it all came together. I was sitting at an old wooden table at West branch library," Gibson said. "I love working there. I pulled up an article that spilled everything. The dots all connected."

"I just froze. It was great because I thought, 'I'm going to be able to tell Evansville what happened to Kay.'"

So for the next few years, Gibson taught journalism classes at USI during the school year and during summer breaks researched, filmed video interviews with local historians and former zoo employees and started editing documentary segments. 

Gibson also decided Kay's story wasn't the only one that should be told. She decided to include the story of her "childhood elephant," Bunny.

Bunny the elephant was brought to Evansville after Kay was sold. Bunny lived at the zoo, mostly in solitary, for more than 40 years until she was transported to The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee, in 1999. Bunny passed away at the sanctuary on May 14, 2009.

"When I was looking at Kay's experience, I couldn't help but reflect on Bunny's experience," Gibson said. "I just saw so many ways where their lives took different paths, but I also found similarities.

"It became clear early on, this was not just the story of one elephant. It was the story of two."

"Two Elephants" will premiere on Friday and Saturday at Old National Public Theatre at the WNIN Public Media Center. 

Showtimes on Friday and Saturday are at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. As of Wednesday, the 7:30 p.m. Friday show was sold out. 

Tickets are $10 and available at onpublictheatre.org.

After this weekend's showing, WNIN will broadcast the documentary periodically for the next year.

Gibson said she's entering the documentary in several film festivals, but its purpose stretches beyond festival honors. She wants to set the record straight.

Former Mesker Zoo director Amos Morris showed Gibson the International Species Information Database, a database that tracks zoological information. In the database, Kay is listed as lost.

"The official record said they lost track of her. When this is all said and done, I'm going to contact Amos and ask him what he needs from me to help correct this. He's a member of AZA (Associations of Zoos and Aquariums,) and I think he's interested in doing that."

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