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Tarun Das/AP
People crowd around an elephant that was killed by a freight train while crossing a railway track near Binnaguri in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, India, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2010. Seven elephants were killed and one injured when a speeding goods train hit the animals Wednesday night. The elephants were hit when they were trying to help two baby elephants that were trapped on the tracks, a forest officer said according to a news agency.
Reuters
A body of a dead elephant is lifted by a crane from a railway track after it was hit by a cargo train in Binnaguri village, north of Kolkata September 23, 2010.
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The Economist has a good recent story on India's vulnerable elephants, which mentions trains as one of the many threats facing the animals: http://www.economist.com/node/16996947?story_id=16996947&fsrc=rss
It might have been better if God had never created man. Man is the worst creature on earth. They kill for no reason, they fight for no reason, they do anything they wish to destroy and pollute the earth. Prime example with the train. We humans are so stuiped.
Fr., I think you generalize too much. There are many in this world that are dedicated to doing good. You should know better !
Humans are "stuiped", huh? Way to make your point.
Considering God is man made if he didnt create man he couldnt create religion . And you wouldnt have Jesus to pray to
Then make yourself disappear!
Breaks my heart!
Such a tragic waste of life. Progress is great, but not at the expense of others with whom we share the planet. I wish they could/would develop some type of warning system for the animals that danger is coming and they would avoid the tracks when the trains approached. In this case, with young ones stuck on the track, I don't think it would have mattered. The elephants wouldn't abandon the babies. I didn't say how many were in the herd, but 7 is a tremendous loss to their family. So sad.
This just kills me. They were just trying to save their babies. I weep for their loss.
Elephants are very intelligent. I bet if they built tunnels for them to go under the tracks (as some US places are doing to allow animals to cross freeways safely) they would use them. It would be expensive, and a mighty big tunnel, but... I think it would be worth it.
This made me cry. They were killed trying to help two baby elephants! It shows that elephants really do have emotions. Read the book When Elephants Weep.
Absolutely horrifying! I have seen a documentary on elephants Diane and they very much are humanlike. When a young female gives birth, an older female elephant stands by to help them. They are amazing creatures!
This is beyond tragic :( These are beautiful, highly intelligent creatures and they were trying to save their young. There has to be better ways to protect elephants and other animals around train tracks.
I'm in tears. What a terrible tragedy. Elephants are the most magnificent animals on earth and already face so many dangers -- to have this happen is just heartbreaking. They live in family groups and genuinely care for each other, and I can only imagine how they must have felt trying to help those babies. Fences, tunnels, SOMETHING should be done to keep this kind of thing from happening again.
I will be crying for the next two weeks...I'm so hearbroken
I much prefer the tragi-comic elephant tales from India...like when wild ones get drunk on farmers' beer and go on a drunken rampage and pull down utility poles....but this is so very sad!
This just breaks my heart, especially since they were trying to free the babies. Yes, there should be something to warn the elephants or shouldn't the train engineers be on the lookout for animals crossing the tracks, I would think they could see an elephant from far away.
Now I want you all to realize that I do feel sad for the fate of the magnificent animals that tragically lost their lives trying to save their offspring. That being said, trains are (should be) equipped with bells and whistles/air horns. Elephants may ignore them. Indian railroads may not equip the trains with said bells and whistles to possibly save money (the almighty dollar). Whatever the case, engineers SHOULD always be on the lookout for obstructions on the tracks. However, as this was a 'fast freight', the engineer might be able to see the elephant but it takes more than a few miles to stop a speeding freight laden train.
Here in America, as the West was being exploited for the buffalo and huge land grabs, trains had 'cowcatchers' mounted on the front of them. Now I would imagine that it might not be practical to mount an 'elephant catcher' on the front of an engine. Tunnels may be impractical as well as I would think that elephants might feel free to wander/roam wherever they might want.
Please understand that I am not condoning the death of these poor animals, nor am I defending the railroads. Also in India, dont they enslave elephants to do heavy manual labor and also perform in circuses? Not only does India have terrible human rights issues, they also have terrible animal rights issues as well.
Overall, this is a sad story.
Very Sad and shows the high level of socialization these huge animals have as they are all caring for there young. Something we don't always see in our own communities.
I'm not sure the train could see them at night in the dark and be able to stop in time. I think the issue is probably also compounded by the fact that in the wild, an elephant doesn't have to move out of the way for anything.
God didn't create religion--man did. If you are in to religion you are not in to God! Get the heck out of religion and into Jesus. It is about a personal relationship. And, by the way, man almost always fails to take care of the gifts God has given him (i.e. animals, the land, each other).
This makes me cry as well. Animals are at the mercy of man and we are slowly destroying them all as well as the world in which we live. It hurts my heart!
I not certain about God but I'm certain the is some controlling force....I call it Nature,And I have no doubt that Nature will one day take a look at us and say; " Thats Enough...You're gone". How much longer can the Earth afford us?
oh my god that one picture is so graphic that and the story of the 7 dead elephants makes me cry god i hate this type of tradgy. hopefully they didn't suffer too much as the one looks pretty mangeled.... i'm so upset. :(
What a moment of sorrow for the animals that live and die just like humans. They were trying to help the baby elephants and gave their own lives in hoping to save them. It is so ironic because they are like us in so many ways and deserve so much more than they have been given to live with us on this land.
oh my god i am still so upset i can't get this out of my mind.....
Looks like alot of elephant curry to me.
I'm surprised this isnt more common.
That must have made a gawdawfull sound when he they got mowed down. Now I suppose there will be ghost elephants on the tracks waving lanterns and such.
Regarding the tragic and unnecessary death of seven elephants crushed to death by a train in India:
I was deeply upset by this story. I am humbled by the courage, devotion and respect for life these elephants demonstrated by giving their lives for their young.
I was not aware of this problem before. But now I am.
Could we all join together and take action to help these elephants?
I am not a wildlife biologist. However, I have some thoughts. This tragedy took place in area that is well known as a corridor used by elephants. If 15 or 20 miles of this train's tracks through the most important and most used portion of the elephant corridor were to be elevated by a railway trestle or similar structure, most of the elephants could pass safely below it.
The World Bank offers grants for this kind of project under its Global Environmental Facility (GEF). I believe we should bring this idea to the attention of Robert Zoellick, president of The World Bank. This is how to share your thoughts with him:
Mr. Robert Zoellick
Office of the President
The World Bank
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433 USA
TEL: (202) 473-1000
FAX: (202) 477-6391
We can help these wonderful elephants! Let's do it. - Reg Crowder
Thanks Reg! What a wonderful idea. I'll send a letter with my vote for the trestles.