JERUSALEM, April 4 (Reuters) - A male elephant has mauled one of his mates to death at an Israeli zoo in front of crowds visiting during the Jewish Passover holiday.

Yossi, a 33-year-old male African elephant and herd leader chased Atari, a 46-year-old female, and smashed her against a stone wall several times, crushing her, a video of the incident released on Wednesday showed.

Some of the thousands of visitors to the Safari Zoo, outside Tel Aviv, could be heard shouting "Oh my goodness!" as she collapsed.

At close to seven tonnes, Israeli zookeepers say Yossi is the largest elephant in captivity anywhere. Atari was about half his weight.

"She didn't stand a chance," zookeeper Vicka Minkowitz said.

Zookeepers said they had quarantined Yossi in his pen since Sunday's incident, which they are investigating with international experts.

Some experts suspect the elephant, born in captivity in Israel, had a fit of rage typical of the mating season, though he had not displayed such behaviour in the past.

He had previously mated peacefully with Atari, who has given birth to some of his 20 offspring, Minkowitz told Reuters.

"It's the first time he has showed such a temper," she said.

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