Elephants Lumber To Staples Before Jackson Service

Hours before a public memorial for Michael Jackson, a herd of elephants is on the march through downtown Los Angeles in a fitting start to a circus-like day.

Eleven Asian elephants and seven horses from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus lumbered from Union Station toward the Staples Center early Tuesday, where the memorial service for Jackson will be held.

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The elephants are set to arrive at the arena some five hours before the memorial. Some elephants and early arriving Jackson fans could come face-to-face, but circus spokesman Andy Perez says the animals are quite comfortable with crowds.

Perez says the pre-dawn pachyderm march is a decades-old tradition for the circus, which opens Wednesday at the Staples Center.

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