Social-media followers chime in after photo emerges showing a large elephant claiming its share of goods from a transport vehicle.
In July we published a story that referenced a massive shark bite on a giant hooked tuna as collection by the “taxman.”
Since then we’ve mentioned other instances involving sharks being referred to by frustrated anglers, jokingly, as tax collectors.
Apparently, that label can also apply to elephants.
On Monday, a member of the Indian Forest Service shared the accompanying image showing a large female elephant using her towering frame and trunk to poach produce from a truck.
“Tax Deduction at Source,” Parveen Kaswan joked via X.
One follower described the truck’s contents as sugarcane.
“And no paperwork necessary!” another person remarked, before adding: “She’s way cuter than bureaucrats!”
Another follower referred to the incident as “forceful tax deduction,” while another described the collection as “a forest tax for the landlord.”
Still another referred to the elephant as a “sneaky thief.”
Kaswan did not credit the photographer or state when and where the amusing episode played out.
Footage shows the disoriented elephant emerging from the well and ramming a tractor before returning to the forest.
A representative of the Indian Forest Service has shared footage showing the tense rescue of an elephant that had become trapped in a well in the state of Odisha.
“A tusker rescued from an open well in [the town of] Narla. Well done team Kalahandi North,” Susanta Nanda stated Thursday via X.
The footage, captured from the cab of a tractor used to create a path for the elephant, shows the disoriented animal struggling to regain its footing and ramming the vehicle before trotting into the forest.
Footage shows the elephant using its powerful trunk to compress and spray water as a fine mist directed toward tourists.
A bull elephant in South Africa’s MalaMala Game Reserve used its powerful trunk recently to compress and spray water as a fine mist directed toward safari guests.
“This bull tricks us with a water show!” Ranger Gabriel Harmer exclaimed via Instagram. “It was absolutely amazing! A light mist spray on a warm afternoon drive. What better way to cool down than to get water sprayed on you by an Ellie!”
Harmer’s footage is posted below and best viewed with audio.
Footage from South Africa shows an elephant’s comical reaction after finding itself face to face with a much smaller rhinoceros.
Clearly, elephants do not appreciate surprise encounters involving other large animals. But do they have to be so dramatic?
The accompanying footage, shared Wednesday by South Africa’s MalaMala Game Reserve, shows an elephant reacting loudly and frightfully after coming face to face with a rhinoceros.
“An elephant being a bit of a drama queen,” MalaMala joked via X.
Footage from South Africa shows the bull elephant stooping onto its belly and crawling beneath the wire to access a watering hole.
An elephant in South Africa’s Addo Elephant National Park has discovered that to access water protected by an electrified fence, one has to think like a leopard.
The accompanying footage shows the bull elephant garnering laughter and admiration while stooping onto its belly and advancing carefully beneath the lowest strand of wire.
“The lowest strand of wire is about 2 meters off the ground, with more strands above that,” Sri Lanka Elephant, which shared the footage last month, explained via Facebook.
“It allows smaller animals, buffalo, kudu, etc., to pass underneath and get to the water, and has been effective in keeping most of the elephants out. But then this bull worked out how to beat the system!”
Elephants are kept from the watering hole because the massive pachyderms can be destructive and prevent smaller mammals from reaching the water.
Sri Lanka Elephant, which did not provide video credit, suggested that the elephant was exhibiting its version of a “leopard crawl.”
Dramatic footage captured in India shows “what maternal instinct is all about” as crocodile limps away empty-handed.
A momma elephant keeps her babies close because danger often lurks in unexpected places.
The accompanying footage, shared this week by an Indian conservation official, shows momma standing guard as her calf plops on its side to roll in a muddy watering hole.
After a few seconds, momma elephant grows suspicious and suddenly a crocodile appears in the frame, lunging toward the calf.
Viewers will note that momma is having none of it and ends the threat without harm inflicted on her baby.
Dr. PM Dhakate, Chief Conservator of Forests, stated via X:
“See this amazing moment as a mother elephant saves her calf from a crocodile. Her strong, ever vigilant and brave actions show what maternal instinct is all about.”
–Generic elephant image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
The large bull elephant had been tranquilized so vets could treat a poison-arrow wound inflicted by poachers.
A large bull elephant that was tranquilized recently so veterinarians could treat an arrow wound appears to have slept deeply throughout the procedure.
That is, if its powerful snoring was an indication.
The accompanying footage, shared via X Tuesday by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, requires high volume to appreciate the magnitude of snores issued by the pachyderm.
“Reminds me of my husband,” reads one comment beneath the post.
Mesmerising sound of an elephant sleeping!
This big bull was darted earlier this year – by our SWT/KWS Vet Unit – so that a poisoned arrow wound could be treated!
The treatment itself cannot commence until the patient is sedated &, as here, snoring like a very big baby! Using… pic.twitter.com/sYzzEKxIom
— Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (@SheldrickTrust) June 25, 2024
While many might relate to that sentiment, the operation highlighted a serious issue facing bull elephants in Kenya: poaching.
The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, a group dedicated to conserving wildlife in Kenya, explained the decision to tranquilize the elephant:
“This big bull was darted … so that a poisoned arrow wound could be treated!
“The treatment itself cannot commence until the patient is sedated and, as here, snoring like a very big baby!
“Using his experience, the vet estimates the size and weight of an elephant to determine how much of the anesthetic drug will be needed to knock it out (too much could be fatal).
“Once down, ground teams rush in to commence treatment. The outcome of this case was positive.”
Footage shows the elephant, crowded by safari vehicles, shoving its head into the driver’s side of one vehicle and forcing its occupants to exit.
Tourists in India discovered recently that elephants will not always tolerate being cornered by vehicles full of frenzied admirers.
The accompanying footage, believed to have been captured in Jim Corbett National Park, shows a chaotic scene in which a large elephant singled out one vehicle as a means of expressing its disapproval. (Video contains profanity.)
At one point the elephant backs up before reemerging to step on the vehicle’s bumper before moving to the driver’s side and forcing the occupants to exit the passenger side.
“This gentle giant was too kind,” Ramesh Pandey of the Indian Forest Service observed via X.
Drivers and guides take liberty to approach animals due to their so called experience of ‘knowing’ the identified animals. However animal may get irritated sometime and breakdown of safari gypsy results into a death trap.
The ‘gentle giant’ was too kind. pic.twitter.com/gACjCj1zEM
Footage shows the elephant pursuing and flipping the vehicle, which had stopped in dense terrain at a national park in Zambia.
Footage has surfaced showing the harrowing moments last Saturday as a massive bull elephant chased and flipped a safari vehicle in Zambia, causing the death of a U.S. tourist.
The accompanying footage, shared by Andrew Cash, shows the elephant closing on the vehicle, which had run out of road moments before the attack. As tourists express alarm, a guide repeatedly yells “Hey!” in an attempt to ward off the elephant.
Details are slow to emerge, but Wilderness Destinations issued a statement in the aftermath of the incident in Kafue National Park. It reads, in part:
“Wilderness can confirm that an 80-year-old female American guest was tragically killed by a bull elephant while on a game drive at its Kafue National Park destination in Zambia on Saturday.
“Another female guest was also injured in this incident, when an aggressive bull elephant charged the vehicle carrying six guests and a guide who were on a game drive from Lufupa Camp. The injured guest was taken to a private medical facility in South Africa while the other four guests received treatment for minor injuries.”
Elephant attacks are rare, but the docile-looking animals are unpredictable and should always be treated with respect.
Wilderness Destinations expressed “deepest condolences to the family of the guest who died” and addressed remarks on social media regarding why the vehicle had stopped:
“Our guides are all extremely well trained and experienced, but sadly in this instance the terrain and vegetation was such that the guide’s route became blocked and he could not move the vehicle out of harm’s way quickly enough.”
A helicopter was involved in the rescue of the injured tourists. Several agencies are involved in the investigation.
Video shows the attack from afar and from inside the truck. Some criticized the driver, but apparently there is more to the story.
An angry bull elephant in Pilanesberg National Park in South Africa attacked a safari truck, twice lifting it into the air and slamming it down as terrified tourists took cover between the seats.
Video posted on YouTube by iReport South Africa shows the attack from afar and from inside the truck.
The driver yelled at the elephant “hey, hey, move, move.” He slammed the side of his door. But nothing worked.
Finally, the driver backed up and the elephant lost interest, wandering off the road.
The South African reported that it remains unclear when this incident occurred and if anyone was injured.
Commenters on YouTube were critical of the driver, calling him an “idiot” and a guide “with no respect,” and insisting he be fired for “putting tourists in danger.”
But one commenter who claims a friend sent him a video that shows the complete story, not just the end, defended the driver’s actions.
“The elephant entered the car park whilst guests were both on foot in the open and on the walkway (fairly secure) to the hide,” the commenter stated. “The guide sat there quietly with his engine off until the elephant started to approach the vehicle. The elephant didn’t back off and kept coming closer, not responding to warning shouts and door slamming and slapping as they normally will.
“Whether or not the guide took the correct action next is not for me to say, but he took what he thought was the correct action to protect his guests and those on the car park. He started his engine and revved it, hoping the elephant would leave the car park. I understand why he did it, and hindsight is a wonderful thing. I hope the full video is released because I am sure you will all feel some compassion towards the guide and how absolutely terrified he must have been, whilst taking actions to protect others in a very difficult situation. I have no doubt that the guide and guests have been traumatized by this event and I beg for your understanding until you too have seen the full video. It makes so much more sense.”
