They say an elephant never forgets. What they didn’t say is that’s not a statement of fact; it’s a promise. In what could be a real-life horror film, a rampaging elephant in the India state of Jharkhand has already claimed the lives of nearly two dozen people and as of the time of this writing is still on the loose.
Elephants are complex and wonderous creatures. Between their size, intelligence, and social behaviors they are a unique land presence in the animal kingdom. The average Asian elephant can weight around four tons and nine feet tall. That’s more than enough to be a self-contained wrecking crew if it wanted to be. Sure, you could still take one down with enough firepower, but given the endangered status of them, if an elephant was running amok, the goal would be to subdue it peacefully.
That has not been a successful venture in Jharkhand.
The initial onslaught began on January 1st when all was not quiet on New Year’s Day. A family of four were trampled to death in the small village of Babaria because of the rampaging elephant. The exact reason for the elephant’s behavioral turn are not exactly known, but there are at least two theories. One is that it’s become extremely aggressive during its mating phase and the other is that it’s in a stage called “musth.” It seems to be an elephant version of puberty where its hormones are raging as it prepares to ender adulthood, made worse by being separated from its herd.
Whatever the cause, attempts to stop the animal without killing it have proved more deadly to humans. Spreading out from Babaria, the elephant has now killed people in Hatgamharia, Bada Pasiya, and Lampaisai. And in a move that’s almost straight from “Jurassic Park” or “Jaws,” the elephant has also taken out one of the experts that was brought in to help capture it.
We’re hopeful the situation will come to a peaceful end soon, with no more loss of life on either side. We’ll let you know what we hear about this and other news.
