Elephants kill five people in India after villagers 'threw stones to scare them away' Human encounters with country's 29,000 elephants are on the increase as their habitat disappears
57AM GMT 22 Mar 2016
This is the terrifying moment when a man is grabbed by a rampaging
elephant's trunk and lifted off the ground like a twig as a crowd
looks on helpless.
The encounter happened in eastern India where five people were killed
in two separate attacks.
Four of the victims died in the village of Bhatar in West Bengal state
on Sunday morning when three elephants apparently strayed from their
herd.
Disappearing habitat brings elephants into conflict with humans more
frequently in India Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Benoy Krishna Burman, West Bengal forest minister, told AFP the
victims were trampled after angering the elephants by throwing stones
to try to scare them off.
The male elephant died when it was hit by a tranquilliser dart fired
by forestry officials summoned to help, and the other three - a female
and two calves - ran away, Burman said.
Another man died in the Burdwan district of West Bengal, where a
horrifying video captured his final moments.
Wildlife experts say encounters between humans and elephants are
increasing in India's rural areas due to the destruction of the
animals' habitat.
Last month a wild elephant went on an hours-long rampage in a town in
eastern India, damaging about 100 homes, shops and other buildings.
Photos showed the bewildered animal wandering around Siliguri, about
360 miles north of Kolkata, crashing into buildings, as people
scurried out of the way.
India is home to 29,000 wild elephants, about 60 per cent of which
live outside of designated national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
As many as 300 people are killed by the animals every year in India,
according to the World Wildlife Fund has set up a flying squad in
parts of Asia to head off conflict between humans and elephants.
Its teams of Asian elephants and their riders ward off the invaders,
drawing them away from villages.
This is the terrifying moment when a man is grabbed by a rampaging
elephant's trunk and lifted off the ground like a twig as a crowd
looks on helpless.
The encounter happened in eastern India where five people were killed
in two separate attacks.
Four of the victims died in the village of Bhatar in West Bengal state
on Sunday morning when three elephants apparently strayed from their
herd.
Disappearing habitat brings elephants into conflict with humans more
frequently in India Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Benoy Krishna Burman, West Bengal forest minister, told AFP the
victims were trampled after angering the elephants by throwing stones
to try to scare them off.
The male elephant died when it was hit by a tranquilliser dart fired
by forestry officials summoned to help, and the other three - a female
and two calves - ran away, Burman said.
Another man died in the Burdwan district of West Bengal, where a
horrifying video captured his final moments.
Wildlife experts say encounters between humans and elephants are
increasing in India's rural areas due to the destruction of the
animals' habitat.
Last month a wild elephant went on an hours-long rampage in a town in
eastern India, damaging about 100 homes, shops and other buildings.
Photos showed the bewildered animal wandering around Siliguri, about
360 miles north of Kolkata, crashing into buildings, as people
scurried out of the way.
India is home to 29,000 wild elephants, about 60 per cent of which
live outside of designated national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
As many as 300 people are killed by the animals every year in India,
according to the World Wildlife Fund has set up a flying squad in
parts of Asia to head off conflict between humans and elephants.
Its teams of Asian elephants and their riders ward off the invaders,
drawing them away from villages.
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