Two motorcyclists were lucky to escape with only minor injuries when they were charged by an elephant recently as they tried to sneak past the animal on a highway near India’s Gorumara National Park.
According to media reports, the elephant stepped out onto the highway on Sunday afternoon, bringing traffic to a halt as motorists waited for the animal to return to the surrounding forest. Footage captured on a mobile phone shows two men on a motorcycle attempting to sneak past the elephant. Noise from the engine seems to distress the animal, causing it to charge.
When their bike crashes to the ground, one motorcyclist can be seen bolting into the forest, while the other stumbles back down the road towards the other motorists. The elephant then takes out some of its frustration on the bike and a discarded helmet nearby.
Fortunately, the duo suffered only minor injuries. Wildlife officials later used firecrackers to scare the elephant back into the forest.
This is not the first incident of human-elephant conflict in this part of India. In February this year, an elephant killed three people in a local village.
Moral of the story: if there’s an elephant in the road, it’s probably best just to wait it out.
Header image: Navaneeth KN/Flickr
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Animal Behaviour
Animal Behaviour
