Elephant Episodes: Elephant attacks

The Asian elephant is a beautiful creation. It looks majestic and provides an interesting and absorbing sight to all. Its intelligence is something unique. But at times it can be dangerous causing damage to life and property. It is an enjoyable sight to watch during festivals and on occasions several caparisoned elephants present a feast for the eyes. We will refer to some of the episodes of this grand animal. The elephant has its own feelings of prestige. There are cases where an elephant usually given the privilege of carrying the deity, if denied the chance for some reason, attacks the privileged elephant. It charges a few other elephants also and all of them run in panic .The victim usually is the mahout and rarely a pedestrian or any other. Generally the mahout loves the elephant and wins its love. But there are mahouts who ill-treat the elephants and run the risk of being trampled and attacked in revenge. During a local temple festival the elephant carrying the deity and two persons on its back became panicky. It charged the two elephants standing on either side. In the impact one of them fell on its back with four legs up. The persons on top managed to jump out and run. But the persons on top of the charging elephant had a nightmarish experience. The elephant shook its body severely to dislodge them. The men firmly held on to the rope around the neck and on the chain around it. But one of them slipped and fell down. The elephant turned towards him. The mahout on seeing this tried to save him. The elephant released the captive person, attacked the mahout and killed him. Soon other mahouts came to the scene and chained it. One day early morning a teacher was going to the school on a cycle to a distant place. It was still dark. Suddenly an elephant, which broke off its chains, ran through the road and seized the first victim along with the cycle. He was hurdled into the air and on falling was trampled. The cycle was twisted beyond shape and recognition. In another case the elephant attacked the mahout but he managed to roll on the ground escaping its huge tusks. It was a miraculous escape. Another interesting incident is where a motorcycle rider had a hairbreadth escape. He was riding the motorcycle with a pillion rider and passing through a forest area. There was a spot where a lone tusker was often sighted. The riders wanted to cross that point before dusk. But they were shocked to find the elephant marching towards them from the side with its trunk raised. They sped fast with no hope of survival. But a miracle happened. The rider sped fast and missed the raised trunk and through the road they escaped. However, there is the most amazing fact about elephant human relationship. It is that despite the large size of the animal and its 5-ton power behind it, with occasional fury, men opt for the job of mahouts. It is an act of great confidence and dedication. But for this dedication we would not have grand sights of parades of elephants in which 50 to 100 elephants, beautifully decorated, participate and which is a regular feature in parts of Asia. It provides a grand tourist attraction.