A young girl was injured at a zoo in Wuhan, the provincial capital of central China's Hubei Province, on Sunday when an African elephant, in retaliation to abuse from a group of tourists, hurled a stone towards the mob, striking the girl in the face, according to a local newspaper.

The 13-year-old elephant, named Ahai, was being subjected to taunts from tourists and was being pelted with stones, mud and plastic bottles, according to an unnamed spokesman with Wuhan Zoo.

Ahai, who has lived in the zoo with his friend A'nan for seven years, curled up a stone in his trunk and hurled it over the fence, hitting a girl who was being held up by her father, and causing the crowd to flee.

The girl, whose age was not reported, suffered injuries to her forehead and was taken to hospital immediately. The zoo has promised compensation.

(Xinhua News Agency February 27, 2007)