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Two wild elephants went on a three-hour rampage in the southern Indian city of Mysore, trampling one person to death and causing widespread panic, local officials told AFP.
State forest department officials said the young jumbos, which were later tranquilized and captured, came from a forest about 22 miles away with two others, who remain at large on the outskirts of the city.
Every year hundreds of people across India die when wild animals wander into cities as their natural habitats shrink and they have to range farther for food, according to AP.
AFP - Getty Images
A wild Indian elephant, with a tranquliser dart in its side, brushes past a car as it causes panic on a street in Mysore, India on June 8.
AFP - Getty Images
An elephant, with a tranquiliser dart in its side, is watched by bystanders, one armed, as it walks in a compound in Mysore on June 8.
AP
A wild elephant attacks a man during a rampage in Mysore on June 8. The man was killed.
AFP - Getty Images
An Indian elephant is linked by a heavy rope to others as it is led from the scene of its capture in Mysore on June 8.
One person was killed when a pair of wild elephants entered a town in southern India. TODAY.com's Dara Brown reports.
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Misleading headline. As my second grade teacher would have said "Who is on a rampage? The man or the elephant?"
The headline almost makes it seem like some guy was going nuts and some wild elephant stopped him.
Thanks for your input Stevie. I have updated the headline.
The elephant's revenge. That's 160,000,000 and counting for mankind, and one for the elephants.
Looks as if GOP has been let loose on middlle-low class neighborhood--probably heard that their tax-breaks were being threatened---watch out for the giant Palin-like turds they leave behind
Love this comment!
Hahaha! This was hilarious! Did you come up with this yourself? Oh my goodness, the GOP is in big trouble with the amazing intellect (like yours) that the liberals have access to. Oh man, I'm still laughing. Hooooweee, you are funny.
Seriously,
I don't think it's Joel that is the threat to republicans. The insane, idiotic, wacky religious reactionaries that seem to be the only choices in the GOP are enough of a threat. Maybe your party will have a Paul Revere that can ride in ringing his bells to alert the party of their impending losses if they don't put a muzzle on Palin, and do a hell of a lot better than Mitt Romney.
classic.....lol!
What the hell is wrong with these people? It's THEY who are the invaders! Elephants are intelligent creatures capable of love, and they were there waaay before the Indians. If the Indians can't stop reproducing themselves to the point that they must destroy all other creatures in their environment, then they better learn how. It's called "BIRTH CONTROL!" Whatever God/s they believe in, surely such Gods do not give mankind the right to endlessly reproduce, hogging ALL of the planets resources, and killing any and all competition.
@Watsomn;
I must say I wrote my post about people to stop breeding before I read yours..Its a shame so many people have no idea just how horrific the situation is...like I said..now that the elephants have PTSD they will continue to kill and search and destroy. Are these "animals" (the humans) going to shoot them all now? horrible horrible situation...
@watson
and this is coming from an American? any idea how much resource an average American consumes with respect to an Indian?
In america, if wild animals stray into cities, they are shot at sight! people are at least empathetic here to the point of relocating the animal back to the jungle. Yes, forests are being destroyed at an alarming rate...people are greedy and the state of New-York was built after destroying lush woodland...do some deep introspection before making hate speech
Thanks Mowglee
Imagine what would happen if they were all Christians - no abortions, no birth control. I am glad this religion is limited to a few countries
I may catch flak for this but I have been so incensed by the treatment of Elephants for years -a mammal that feels and thinks as humans do and are now acting out from PTSD after years and years of mistreatemant..(I don't have a link.. but Google PTSD elephants..) what would one expect humans to do after decades and decades of basic torture? The flak I'm gonna catch is this...I feel absolutly wonderful when I see the elephants go on rampages. Especially when they destroy villages looking for the babies the humans have killed. People should really research whats happening with them. It Is horrible but fascinating how alike they are too us. These beautiful mamals wiegh tons yet never crush the bones of thier dead when they visit thier cemeatrys they have put together for their own...amazing. PTSD? ENOUGH! STOP RINGLY BROS ETC>> NO MORE CIRCUS FOR WILD ANIMALS>......oh and maybe its not the elephants who should stop BREEDING....
No flak from me. I regret the loss of life, and I don't think the loss of habitat was specifically the fault of the guy who died (or his family, who are probably in dire straits about now), but humans, generally, need to rein in our relentless conquest of nature. I don't rejoice in the deaths of humans or animals, but I am far more on the side of the elephants than the humans in this lamentable situation.
I wonder: has the US exerted pressure on India to curtail sex education and the distribution of birth control? That definitely sounds like something we would do, in our self-righteous zeal to export our morally superior way of life...
No flax from me, either. Isn't that a $100,000+ Mercedes in one of those pictures? These people may be reproducing at an alarming rate, but someone is definitely profitting from it!
I was wondering whether that was a Gelandewagen in the front-page photo.
Dunno what the effects might be in the Mysore vicinity, but India as a whole has greatly profited in recent years from the USA's #1 export: jobs.
Cop car is a chevy minivan. Others are variants of Jeep. 4-door sedan
$100,000+ Mercedes are not available in Mysore. You will find them in Mumbai / Delhi and other parts of India.
"Chaos and death, as...." That's what the elephants said when humans invaded. Don't blame the elephants for stupid human tricks
i feel so bad for those elephants, what we've done to the animals, already done to us. Our world has become so sad and it's getting sadder every day.
Actually, the article says nothing bad about the elephants; it is essentially impartial, which is how news articles used to be back in the day.
As far as the damage, I think that when one lives in a place like India it is a given that s--t will happen, whether you're a human or an elephant. Monsoons, floods, disease, famine, earthquakes, tsunamis, over-population, Bollywood; these are the conditions of their life and that is why life is so cheap over there.
One day you shoot the elephant; one day he pays you a visit.
it almost reminds me of Louisiana.
My heart fell out when I seen the elephant trying to kill the cow, she looked she was tied an had no way to run away, gosh this is a heart breaker story.
Humans push and push and our populations continue to grow and expand and invade areas that wildlife have known for centuries to be their territory, and then we act surprised and horrified when these animals come into contact with humans.
It's no different in my home state, where cities are expanding into areas that previously were valleys and forests and pasture land untouched for centuries, and then when the deer or bears or bobcats that lived there wander into people's yards they blame the animals. Stupid.
At least these elephants were tranquilized and not just killed on the spot as is so often the case.
Just like humans, animals become aggressive when their survival is threatened.
This story breaks my heart. I truly feel empathy for the elephants and the other wild animals who suffer as a consequence of humans' lack of compassion for the other creatures with whom we share this awesome planet. Those poor spirits are suffering. Watching the video of the elephant attacking the donkey REALLY got to me. PLEASE, people, honor ALL creatures. You may be in their place someday (think Karma).
Yeah I agree most of the comments are off color. I have visited Mysore and it's beautiful. ( it was the capital of the only state to fight the british) I was working and Bangalore for a while and Mysore was about three hours north in the country. This area is not overpopulated as Bangalore is. But hate on fools. Indians are much more in tune with nature than we are in the US. They let it go on its way rather that blocking it everywhere as we do.
I had a republican comment, but someone beat me to it.
I'm not a bleeding heart, but do we really need to see photos of someone in the act of being killed? I hope I'm not killed in some way that make news and the pic of me being killed shows up for all to see.
This whole "Indians reproducing is causing Elephants to run wild" thread is really unfortunate. Thats like saying the Bronx cobra escaped because people were having sex at Central Park. It's highly probable that deforestation around Mysore can be a cause of this. There is an article out there about Elephants having memory, so stress / PTSD might be a factor. Mysore is very close to multiple National Parks which are home to Indian elephants.
Please reconsider using sweeping statements like Indians having too much sex == Elephants gone wild.My thoughts go out to the family of the deceased.
PS: You should visit Mysore if you havent already. It's a lovely city, with a lot of history. You can google / bing / wiki and look it up.
How is deforestation unrelated to overpopulation? Is not the former a direct consequence of the latter?
Also, you dilute your point by misstating everyone else's. No one's complaining about Indians "having sex." The problem isn't sex; it's overpopulation. Sex without reproduction is quite possible, and should be vigorously promoted, particularly in poor countries that can't afford, or provide ecologically available land to house, the babies they're already producing.
They should have all the sex they want (they came up with the Kama Sutra, after all!). But they, just like we, should have full access to birth control, comprehensive sex education and, when necessary as a last resort, abortion.
Hi Dave
Kamasutra reference in a "Rampaging elephant kills a man" thread looks highly misplaced -- Dont you think ? :)
Indians do have access to birth control, comprehensive sex education etc - but that's besides the point here. I was referring to the deforestation of Sandalwood trees around Mysore by poachers / sandalwood smugglers. Sandalwood is a prized commodity like elephant tusks.
I really dont think this is related to over-population. There are pockets of higher density of population in other parts of India but no Elephants in Sandalwood forests nearby.
Perhaps so, but this thread could use a bit of comic relief.
That is wonderful news, and a bit of a surprise. So is India's rampant overpopulation intentional, then, or simply erroneously reported?
Also a vile and shameful practice, and ample reason for the elephants to be p!ssed off at the humans. It's sad to see such a wonderful country being destroyed, bit by bit, by human negligence and greed.
Thank you for fleshing out the facts of this story a bit.
@dave in NM - missed your post -- sorry couldnt respond earlier
@rampant overpopulation - I am really not sure what's wrong, I only collect funny indian stories.
Here's a true story, courtsey my mom's friend (She's a doctor in a small town in India and does this medical outreach programs, safe drinking water, contraception, basic health checkup, blood-pressure / glucose tests etc.)
So doc was doing this follow-up visit to this village where she had talked about birth-control and had distributed birth control pills earlier. The village is like a hamlet - collection of 10-20 thatched roof semi-permanent structure, most people farm / work as day-labor in a nearby factory.
There was this lady who volunteered and asked for pills earlier. The doc was very happy that all her hard work was paying off @ education / out-reach and family planning talks etc. Doc went to her house for a follow-up @ how are things and how are you doing etc.
That lady was over-joyed to see the doc and announced - doc! i am pregnant. Doc was dumbfounded - how is this possible ? I gave you a bottle of pills.
So, guess what happened ?
the lady gave the birth control pills to her husband. The husband took the pills for a month and commented to the wife that these are really good for my health and I feel great. Lets have another baby.
Most Indians have very high degree of respect for all living creatures big and small. In this case they use darts to sedate the elephants. In the US they crowds would have shot them dead and some nut case would have been out there cutting off the head to mount on his wall our outside his trailor home. Yes I'm sure that indians are in fact moving into the natural area, but this is happening everywhere not just in India.. I live in Arizona one of the last wild areas in North America and urban sprawl is everywhere... we find all sorts of wild animals in our streets... So it is not just India. Hopefully mankind will someday turn this around and approach cities and urban areas in a new way. I am happy only a few were hurt and I pray for the one who was killed.
Not one comment above has said they hate Indians. They and I are expressing outrage at the lack of human birth control in India. The stats show a baby is born every 42 seconds in India, that needs to stop or there will be no forests, clean water or enough food to feed them all. The elephants are suffering because of the human population explosion which is depriving animals of food and habitat. when animals strike back and kill humans to me that is justice. We kill animals by the billions every year and when one human is killed by an animal it is news, why?
I think those numbers are inaccurate @ baby is born every 42 seconds. That would mean only 750,000 babies are born in India in a year; which makes Indias population growth rate at .075%
Sorry - I didnt mean to imply that someone said they hate Indians. If I came across like that - my apologies.
We encroach on the wild animals' land, and this is what always happens.
True that.
Elephants do go on rampage - whether they are in the wild or domesticated. It is unfortunate these groups of wild elephants were near a town. They probably were disoriented because of the noise and the crowd. Generally in India, people will not harm elephants (unless they are poachers), regardless, of what happens to anyone else. The elephants hold an important place in the culture. They are very respectful of these amazing mammals. I hope they take even more steps to protect their habitat so these creatures don’t wander off into the villages.
I hope the captured elephants are not "broken" and "trained" for the circus or used in tourism such as trekking adventures.
I am sure that elephants used to rampage villages even 100s of years earlier, when there was not so much over population. Every now and then, a nutcase of an elephant, will come out and want to trampede. Just like every so often some nutcase of a human, will want to go out and kill and elephant (more so in the latter case with poachers) .
Yes we are encroaching bigtime, everywhere. I saw some trees being cleared out here in atlanta, and was saddened by it. Some rabbits and couple of deer and what not lost their place to live, and had to wander off someother place or in somebodys backyard, where there will be competition with something else, say a cat living there, or lastly ofcourse the Human, who may either decide to let them be, or kill them or something.
Actually more than the population, the real reason why stuff is being cleared, is for
1) Farming...
2) Our use of wood and or use of the land for say drilling or mining.
If we could somehow just leave the trees and forest alone and find something else to use to burn, or build homes with, then we are still hundreds of years away from completely destroying the habitats. We can turn this around. All you have to say is no to products which donot use renewable sources and automatically the deforestation , mining , etc will stop. (Don't have a solution for farming if it is necessary to feed the populace, however doubt that it is the main reason).
People should love trees, and vegetation and everything that lives and thrives on it. Earth would be a beautiful place to co-exist, and yes even with a 15 billion folks, its still large enough as long as we 'level' the population and stop exploitation of resources. Which means changes in lifestyle... Will try to list a few here...
1) DONOT USE AND THROW!!!! (means use, steel spoons, forks and knives and dishes and pay people to clean them for you -- yes those are jobs, unfortunately which americans may not want..)
2) Use water to wash your asses,
3) Use clay utensils (which go back to earth once used up).
4) Use hand fans, and keep windows open during summer months.
5) avoid too much travel, and work near your home, living a richer life, rather than spending 50% of your life on trains and in buses and cars
6) Have a lot of sex during the days that your wives and gfs wont get pregnant. (Saves a lot of rubber being used and gives more pleasure)
7) Have a lot of sex with women who cannot conceive, and who are done with their menopausal periods. Make them happy and in process enjoy your own contribution to nature by not reproducing.
8) Promote, dramas and live plays and performances and listen to live music, rather than supporting more and more production of films. Try to enjoy live stuff and that goes for porn too...
Somebody else, please add to this list....
Let's just all cool our jets and wait for the inevitable land war between China and India. Then 2 problems will be solved at one time.
So much empathy for an animal here, while most people will eat an animal for dinner. Some animals are more equal than others? Animal Farm anyone?
if i were living there, i would use all animals for trade/business. humans are the most powerful creatures on earth thanks to our amazing brain. due to this, we should take advantage of the weaker animals for our own benefit. think of all those billiard balls you can make from those tusks, and you can either use elephant skin for something like a baseball glove or catcher's pad or a skateboard under carraige design, and you can probably also eat the meat or feed it to another animal you can eat or sell. i find it hypocritical that humans stand up for these pathetic animals whom are below us.
scir91onYouTube , if humans are superior, why are they destroying themselves (e.g. wars, global warming etc) and the very ecosystem to which they belong? If your type of individuals represent the majority of mankind, god save the human race!