Video: Wild Elephant Goes On Rampage, Drives Villagers To Rooftops

An elephant, which strayed from its herd, went on a rampage in a town in Khordha district in Odisha, India, on Saturday, injuring three residents.

Although these wild elephants are typically peaceful creatures, they can pose threat to human settlements if one of them happened to stray from their herd and wander around confused. Such an incident transpired when a herd of 22 elephants entered Tangi, a semi urban settlement in Khordha district. Forest officials were called to the scene and while they drove the herd back to the bordering forest, one of the elephants got separated from its family and found itself back in the town, local news outlet Odisha TV reported.

Terrified villagers ran for their lives as the stray animal chased them on the streets and nearby railway tracks, forcing them to take shelter on roofs of buildings to steer clear of the elephant’s wrath.

The rampaging animal reportedly caused considerable damage to people’s homes and other property around the area. The elephant’s less-than-usual antics were recorded by some of the villagers. A compilation of the videos shows the animal running amok, knocking down bicycles and motorbikes parked near a coaching center, all the while when the villagers hid in their homes.

The elephant also walked over to the railway tracks at the Bhusandpur station, causing trains to stop running for a while as it positioned itself among the rocks in the area. Three villagers were reportedly injured during the animal’s rampage. Some reports said that the elephant disappeared into the forest on its own after a while, and others said that forest officials drove the animal away.

While elephant attacks in Indian villages, located near forests, are not uncommon, rarely does multiple human settlements in a single state happen to encounter the beast on the same day. Saturday was one of those rare days. In a separate incident, a man in Kuleibaga village in Sundargarh district, Odisha, was trampled to death after a jumbo found its way to the settlement.