Tag: Elephants

Runaway elephant escapes traveling circus, blocks traffic in Montana

Circus? Empty. Elephant? Here.

Imagine sitting in traffic on your way to or back from work. Sure, being stuck behind a million cars is boring, but at least you know it’ll clear up soon, and you’ll be on your way. Unfortunately for a road full of commuters in Butte, Montana, that reassurance was lost when a runaway elephant escaped from a nearby traveling circus and ran wild in the street.

This cartoonish incident occurred on Tuesday, April 16. According to the BBC and local news reports, Butte Civic Center manager Bill Melvin claimed the elephant was loose for roughly 10 minutes before returning to its trailer.

Watch one witness’s amused account of the fiasco in the wild video below.

Note: The featured image is a stock photo used to illustrate the story.

Elephant seems to thank motorist after herd safely crosses road

The footage supports the popular belief that elephants are intelligent, thoughtful creatures.

Historical vids has shared footage of a large elephant herd crossing a rain-soaked road and one of pachyderms exhibiting what appears to be a gesture of appreciation after a safe crossing.

Historical vids, which provides daily “education through memes,” did not provide video credit or a date and location of the crossing. (See the clip below.)

But the footage helps supports the popular belief that elephants are intelligent, thoughtful creatures.

The gesture – a pause after all elephants had crossed, a gaze toward the driver and a nod  – occurs at the end of the clip.

Watch: Baby elephant overcomes foster mom’s clever shooing ploy

When Kadiki wants to be left alone she uses “bottom sounds” to drive Elliot away, but recent footage suggests that the tactic no longer works.

Last January we shared an amusing video showing an orphaned elephant calf running for cover after receiving its foster mom’s powerful “hint” that she wanted to be left alone.

Well, it seems as though the not-so-subtle tactic employed by Kadiki no longer works with the fast-learning Elliot.

“Some of you may remember the hilarious moment when Kadiki’s bottom sounds gave Elliot such a big fright he ran for his life,” Wild is Life stated recently on Instagram. “Seems a few months on, Kadiki’s [gas passing] no longer fazes Elliot!”

Kadiki is Elliot’s 4-year-old foster mom, or “special friend.” Elliot, who lost his family of six, was transported to the Wild is Life Panda Masuie Elephant Release Project in Zimbabwe last winter.

The weeks-old calf was rescued after wandering into a community, where he was harassed by holiday revelers, on Dec. 26 2022.

He ended up at the Wild is Life Zimbabwe Elephant Nursery in Harare, where he was stabled with Kadiki. The two have developed a close bond and, for the most part, enjoy each other’s company.

Footage shows that lions, tigers aren’t always kings of beasts

Indian Forest Service employees have shared footage suggesting that lions and tigers do not always own the right of way in their respective domains.

Indian Forest Service employees have shared footage suggesting that lions and tigers do not always own the right of way in their respective domains.

Ramesh Pandey’s footage shows a napping tiger smartly dashing off to allow a large elephant to pass on a forest trail.

“Lord of the jungle versus King of the forest. Here the titans avoid a clash and give space to each other,” Pandey described in his X post.

That drew a response from Susanta Nanda, who posted footage showing two male lions waking and exiting a trail to allow two rhinos to pass. (Both clips are featured below.)

Nanda: “Neither the Tiger, nor the lions are king of the jungle… It’s all situation specific.”

Both men routinely feature wild animal behavior in their posts.

Orphaned elephants’ adorable ‘milk heist’ caught on camera

Footage has surfaced showing orphaned elephants checking milk bottles for extra sips after the containers had been stored by keepers.

Orphaned elephants are seemingly unanimous in their belief that feeding time is not over simply because their keepers have taken away their milk bottles.

The accompanying footage, shared by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, shows several clever young elephants gathered around a wheelbarrow and testing used containers for last sips.

The Kenya-based conservation group stated via social media:

“The year may change, but the brazen milk heists remain the same. This video was taken back in 2021, when Mukkoka, Nabulu, Maktao & Naboishu seized their window of opportunity, descending upon the milk wheelbarrow, assiduously checking all the empties for leftovers.”

The elephants are using their trunks to place bottles in their mouths the way keepers do at feeding time.

At least one keeper, undoubtedly amused by the animals’ resourcefulness, is shown watching over the elephants.

Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, based in Nairobi, rescues and rehabilitates elephants that become orphaned by poachers with the goal of “reintegrating them into a protected wilderness.”

Twin baby elephants fight over vegetables in adorable video

The Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, N.Y., made history last October when an Asian elephant named Mali gave birth to “miracle twins.” Not only are both male twins thriving, they’re acting as you’d expect any young brothers to act by scuffling …

The Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, N.Y., made history last October when an Asian elephant named Mali gave birth to “miracle twins.”

Not only are both male twins thriving, they’re acting as you’d expect any young brothers to act by scuffling occasionally over trivial matters.

The accompanying footage shows the twins – named Yaad and Tukada – fighting over veggies tossed to them by keepers.

“The twins fight over vegetables, too!” the zoo stated in a tweet. “By Yaad preventatively trying to keep his brother away from his lettuce he only made Tukada more interested.”

In the footage, Yaad keeps attempting to shove or box out Takuda to protect a clump of lettuce that he apparently was saving for himself.

The roughhousing seemed playful, and it’s certain that the pachyderm siblings were adequately fed.

Yaad and Takuda were born on October 24, 2002, and the zoo explained why they were described as miracle twins in a news release announcing their births:

“Elephant twins comprise less than 1% of elephant births worldwide. Of twin pregnancies, twins are often stillborn or are too weak to survive. Sometimes the mother elephant does not survive.”

The calves weighed 220 and 237 pounds at birth.

–Image is a video screen shot 

Can you spot the leopard hiding in the Indian forest?

A photographer in India has shared an image from Rajaji National Park, asking followers if they can spot the leopard hiding in the forest.

A photographer in India has shared an image from Rajaji National Park, asking followers if they can spot the leopard hiding in the forest.

“Spot the Leopard in this frame if you can,” Trikansh Sharma tweeted this week.

It’s not a difficult quiz for those with a keen eye, but forest growth or debris might play tricks on the imagination. (The answer is provided in the link at the bottom of this post.)

“I can see a tiger and a leopard in this frame,” one follower expressed, only to later acknowledge that what he thought was a tiger was merely a clump of leaves.

Photo: Trikansh Sharma

Another follower complained that it was difficult to spot the leopard in “such a low-resolution image,” only to be informed by Sharma that others had easily located the leopard.

Rajaji National Park, also known as Rajaji National Tiger Reserve, is home to about 250 leopards.

While leopard sightings are considered rare and exciting, the expansive park, at the foothills of the Himalayas, is most famous for its wild elephant population.

CLICK HERE to verify the location of the leopard in Sharma’s image.

Watch: Selfie-seeking tourists run for lives from angry elephants

Footage has surfaced from India, showing three men fleeing from charging elephants after they had tried to capture selfies with the massive pachyderms.

In Yellowstone National Park, tourists often approach bison in the hope of capturing closeup images, and many have ended up in a hospital.

Apparently, in Indian forests, tourists have found an even larger animal with which to play this game of who can get closest for a selfie.

The accompanying footage, tweeted by Susanta Nanda of the Indian Forest Service, shows three men running for their lives from elephants that did not appreciate their company.

“For having a selfie, they not only do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm,” Nanda wrote.

In the footage, one of the tourists stumbles and falls, and looks back in terror before rising and continuing to flee.

ALSO: ‘Dominant’ brown bears brawl over fishing rights in Alaskan river

Asked by FTW Outdoors if any of the men were injured, Nanda joked: “It was pure bad luck for the elephants. All of [the men] escaped without any major injuries.”

As with bison, the largest land mammals in North America, Indian elephants are massive critters that appear docile most times, but are dangerously unpredictable.

Reads one of the comments beneath Nanda’s post: “Encroaching wildlife and their habitat is not only dangerous but also a crime. Where are the forest guards on duty?”

Watch: Elephant shows tiger ‘who’s boss’ at watering hole

Video footage from a wilderness reserve in India shows an elephant chasing a tiger from its watering hole.

Video footage from a wilderness reserve in India shows an elephant refusing to allow a tiger to access its watering hole.

“Tigers and elephants tolerate each other fairly well in the wild,” Susanta Nanda of the Indian Forest Service stated via Twitter. “But at times gentle the giant shows who the boss is.”

The footage shows the tiger roaming the perimeter as the elephant keeps a close watch from the water.

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As the wary tiger begins its approach, the elephant exits the pond and circles toward the tiger, ultimately chasing the cat away with a slow-speed charge and a trumpet blast.

Nanda noted the annoying sound of ringing phones in the footage and asked followers: “Should mobiles be banned inside the protected areas?”

Nanda did not provide video credit.

Watch: Prowling tiger bows to ‘titan herd’ of elephants

A large tiger was captured on video recently crouching in the grass to hide from massive elephants crossing a trail just feet away in India.

A large tiger was captured on video recently crouching in the grass to hide from massive elephants crossing a trail just feet away in India.

The footage, captured by naturalist Vijetha Simha, begins with one of the elephants trumpeting as if to announce the detection of the tiger just to their left.

The tiger crouches and almost becomes invisible as the first of three elephants – including a youngster – begin to cross the trail in the rain.

ALSO: Rescued cougar cub tries first hard-boiled egg in adorable video

The footage (posted below) was shared by Susanta Nanda of the Indian Forest Service.

Susanta stated via Twitter: “This is how animals communicate & maintain harmony… Elephant trumpets on smelling the tiger. The king gives way to the titan herd.”

Several seconds after the three elephants cross and disappear into the brush, the tiger stands and begins to follow, only to be chased away by a larger, trumpeting elephant that was bringing up the rear.

Whatever the tiger had hoped to gain from this encounter did not materialize.

Wrote the Times of India: “These creatures are so large that one can do nothing except bow down to their majesty. Now that the tiger has paid his respects to the ‘god of the jungle,’ they can go about their business.”