Elephant Gores Beard

   Peter Beard, a well-known wildlife photographer with a house in Montauk, suffered a fractured pelvis and was gored in the leg when he was attacked by an elephant while on a photographic safari in Kenya on Monday.

   "He has been stabilized," Peter Riva, Mr. Beard's agent, said yesterday. "He is not in mortal danger although he was on Monday when he was brought to the hospital in Nairobi."

   The incident occurred in the Masai Mara national park in Kenya near the Tanzanian border. Mr. Beard and friends had approached a herd of elephants on foot to take photographs. Suddenly, a large female, probably the matriarch of the herd, "began to demonstrate and charge while still 160 yards from the group - extraordinary behavior," Mr. Riva said. "It was an extremely benign situation."

   Mr. Riva continued: "Something must have clicked in her head. She charged half the distance, at which point Peter ordered the others to run. He was not even the closest. The elephant halted at 60 yards, then started again. She passed one guy to get to Peter. In the old days, hunters always made sure their gun-bearer had a rifle of his own for such situations, because elephants always knew the leader. They are not stupid. She probably heard Peter ordering the others."

   He said that according to the sole eyewitness to the actual attack, Mr. Beard held onto the elephant's leg once she caught him. This probably saved his life. As it is, Mr. Beard's pelvis was fractured in five places, and he was badly gored in the leg by the elephant's tusk.

   He was airlifted to Nairobi Hospital, where he reportedly underwent surgery to stop internal bleeding. "He was severely wounded, and it will be a long road to recovery. But he's still Peter - full of piss and vinegar," Mr. Riva said.

   In addition to "The Ranch," as his house and property in the Montauk moorlands are known, Mr. Beard owns the "Hog Ranch," a small compound outside Nairobi. R.D.