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 from India shows the agitated tiger charging an open-topped jeep full of tourists, including at least one child.
Wild animals exhibit remarkable restraint when tourists in vehicles violate their space. But occasionally, they lash out.
Video footage shared Sunday by a member of the Indian Forest Service shows an agitated tiger aggressively charging an open-topped vehicle before responding to loud sounds made by a guide and retreating into the forest.
“Sometimes, our ‘too much’ eagerness for ‘Tiger sighting’ is nothing but intrusion in their life,” Surender Mehra bemoaned via X.
Viewers might note that, with the vehicle just yards from the tiger, at least one infant can be heard in the audio.
The post brings to question the issue of responsible tourism, as in, how close is too close for the safety of wildlife and tourists? (In most regions of the world, any action that glaringly alters the behavior of a wild animal might be considered harassment.)
Reads one of the top comments: “But why [do] the visitors have to risk their life in an open jeep? One leap by the tiger can cause heart attacks to some of them sitting in the jeep. The thrill will vanish in a second.”
The top comment is from a follower who seemed to imply that had the tourists remained silent during the encounter, the tiger might not have felt compelled to lash out:
“Worst is the constant jabbering by tourists – they just won’t keep quiet!”
Folks quizzed about the identity of a large snake photographed recently in India did not require much time to form a consensus.
An Indian Forest Service employee this week shared an image showing a large snake pausing in a clearing with its head and neck raised in a classic cobra posture.
Parveen Kaswan stated via X: “This beauty. Let’s see who can guess the species.”
Responses quickly formed an overwhelming consensus that the snake in question was, as one commenter remarked, “The King himself.”
King cobras, which can measure 15-plus feet, are the longest venomous snakes on earth. They inhabit rainforests and plains in northern India, southern China, and Southeast Asia.
Although rarely encountered, king cobras are revered in India, where they’re considered the national reptile.
King cobra. Photo: Wikipedia
They’re not typically aggressive toward humans, choosing to escape rather than bite in most cases. But a king cobra bite, if not treated immediately, can kill a person in less than 30 minutes.
Kaswan, at the time of this post, had not provided details regarding the sighting. Nor had he responded to comments beneath his X post.
One follower, referring to a recent study that suggests there are four types of king cobras in India, commented:
“It’s now established as 4 different species in different ranges. Assuming this is in northern India, it’s Ophiophagus hannah. If it were from the Western Ghats, it’d be Ophiophagus kaalinga, based on the recent classification.”
Another follower observed: “The Most Mythical of Serpents. The One who Straddles Terrestrial Earth & Heavenly Divinity.The Companion to Lord Shiva. Worshipped & Feared in equal measure by Man.”
A man claiming to be a physician remarked, “We are not left with much to do when a patient is brought to us after it has bitten them.”
Another follower stated that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, directing his comment to Kaswan: “Sir, you call every snake a beauty, but for a common man, it’s scary.”
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 tiger pausing in its tracks and the cobra flaring its hood, but both critters appear to hold their ground.
Safari guests in India were treated recently to a rarely witnessed interaction between a tiger and cobra, which appeared to culminate in a standoff.
Several clips are being shared via social media but the accompanying footage is reported to have been captured in early August by Sudhir Charmode in the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve.
The first clip, shared by Ramesh Pandey of the Indian Forest Service, shows the young tiger pausing when it encounters the cobra in a muddy creek, and the cobra flaring its hood as a warning.
The tiger is wary of the venomous reptile and maintains a safe distance, but it does not flee.
The second clip, shared by the Mumbai-based media company Latest LY, shows the tiger resting while keeping a close eye on the cobra opposite the creek.
At this point the cat and snake are only yards apart.
Latest LY wrote: “The video, which has quickly gained attention on social media, depicts the tiger and snake facing each other, blocking each other’s path.
“Such incidents are seldom witnessed, making this encounter particularly extraordinary.”
The interaction occurred during a festival period when cobras and other snakes are worshipped by Hindus.
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
Footage shows the tiger following the sloth bear, which at one point turns and charges the tiger.
Last month we shared rare footage showing a tiger chasing a sloth bear through an Indian jungle.
Tigers sometimes prey on sloth bears, but predation attempts are rarely witnessed.
The footage, credited to Siddharth Singh, was posted to X by Ramesh Pandey of the Indian Forest Service, who remarked: “Jungles never cease to amaze us.”
On Wednesday, Pandey shared the accompanying footage (also captured by Singh) showing a tiger and sloth bear squaring off on a remote path in a lowland jungle, as tourists in vehicles watched from opposite locations.
When a tiger and a sloth bear come across in a terai jungle.
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
“Jungles never cease to amaze us,” an Indian Forest Service officer stated after sharing footage of the pursuit in a tiger reserve.
Tigers sometimes prey on sloth bears in India, but predation attempts are rarely witnessed.
The accompanying footage, captured in the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, shows a sloth bear fleeing for its life as tourists watch from a safari vehicle, anticipating what might happen next.
Nearly 15 seconds after the bear passes, in a grainy scene captured from another vehicle, the tiger is shown bounding across the road in hot pursuit.
Tiger chasing a sloth bear in Pilibhit Tiger Reserve. Jungles never cease to amaze us.
“Look who is silently entering into a home,” reads the social-media description of the video, captured in rural southern India.
A motion-sensor camera in southern India has captured rare nighttime footage of a fabled black panther lurking on the patio of a residence at night.
“Look who is silently entering into a home near Coonoor, Nilgiris,” Kishore Chandran described Thursday via X.
Coonoor is known for its sprawling tea plantations in the Nilgiri Hills.
The term black panther typically refers to a melanistic (all-black) leopard. The animal in the footage appears to be crossing in front of the home’s main door.
Susanta Nanda of the Indian Forest Service shared Chandran’s post under the heading, “Ghost of the forest comes looking…”
In 2022, BBC Earth elaborated on the stealthy creatures: “Black panthers (Panthera pardus) are sometimes referred to as ‘the ghost of the forest’ because their dark fur allows for stealthy attacks in the dead of night.”
(Panthera pardus is the scientific name for a leopard.)
Chandran’s post inspired plenty of commentary.
One of the more popular comments:
“Enthusiasts spend a lifetime combing jungles to get a glimpse of the Black Panther! And here he is… roaming casually at this guy’s house… insane!”
Another observation: “At night, this would look more dangerous than a tiger.”
There were also references to the fictional “Jungle Book” character Bagheera, friend and protector of the ‘man-cub’ Mowgli.
The black panther in Chandran’s post appears to be traveling solo, looking out primarily for No. 1.
