The Zoo's report says Don RedFox should have had another person with him and that he should have carried a steel rod used to handle elephants.
Zoo director Anne Baker says the 53-year-old keeper has been disciplined, but she would not give details during a news conference Tuesday.
RedFox was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after the attack on July 1.
The zoo's 7-year-old elephant named Louie charged RedFox twice and pinned him in a corner.
RedFox is now recovering at home. The zoo says his family did not provide a response to the review. He's expected to return to work when he's ready.
Statement from the zoo:
"The Review Team assembled to assess the July 1 incident involving Toledo Zoo Elephant Manager Don RedFox and Louie, a seven-year-old African elephant, released its conclusions at a briefing on Tuesday, August 10. Review Team chairperson Marna Ramnath presented findings indicating that the Zoo's response to the incident was both timely and appropriate, and that while there were breaches in protocol over the course of the encounter between Mr. RedFox and Louie, these breaches were highly out of character for Mr. RedFox and in no way representative of standard procedures at The Toledo Zoo.
"Members of the committee reviewed safety protocols, made site visits and interviewed elephant keeper staff, the Zoo's Curator of Mammals and Mr. RedFox. First, the Review Team determined that Zoo's emergency response to the incident was timely and appropriate. Within 26 minutes of the incident, Mr. RedFox was stabilized and en route to the hospital. They also determined that although Mr. RedFox entered the enclosure without another keeper present and without the elephant guide, this was an aberration on his part, and throughout his career at the Zoo Mr. RedFox has shown a deep respect for and strict adherence to the Elephant Management Protocols. Mr. RedFox has no memory of the day in question, which Ms. Ramnath, an RN and MSN, finds to be consistent with the trauma that Mr. RedFox sustained during the incident.
"In a response to the Review Team's findings, the Zoo's Executive Director Dr. Anne Baker stated that the breaches of protocol have been taken seriously and were dealt with in accordance with the procedures established by the bargaining unit of The Toledo Zoo's keeper staff. She also expressed her full confidence in Mr. RedFox as an Elephant Manager and the Zoo's overall commitment to its elephant program.
"In addition, the team made several recommendations, including the recommendation that Louie be cared for only in Protected Contact, in which keepers care for the elephants from outside their enclosure. In her remarks, Dr. Baker stated that both Louie and the Zoo's 25-year-old female Twiggy were placed in Protected Contact immediately following the incident, and they will remain within that management system from now on. In addition, modifications to the protocols by which gates are opened and closed in the Zoo's new elephant facility have been established, and a complete review of procedures will be undertaken once Mr. RedFox returns to work."
