Powerful Pachyderms Parade Through Raleigh

The greatest show on earth has arrived in Raleigh.

The circus brings with it another annual event: the Ringling Brothers' elephant walk. The powerful parade is one of the big top's greatest attractions.

The elephants are large, lumbering, thundering, thick-skinned, big-footed, floppy-eared, super-sized centerpieces of the circus.

Some of the circus stompers squash the scale -- two-ton Tessies, even a 9,000-pounder.

But they are not too flabby. The elephants eat right; they are vegetarians.

Each of the elephants has its own name and its own personality. Judy, Jenny, Baby, Bonko and the others are like humongous humans holding hands, affectionate elephants touching trunks.

Fourteen of the elephants are female.

The circus opens Thursday at theRaleigh Entertainment and Sports Arenaand runs through Monday.