Enraged Elephant Crushes a 70-Year-Old Woman to Death; How Dangerous Are These Gigantic Animals to Humans?

An elderly woman was recently trampled to death by a raging elephant which later turned up at her funeral to "maul her corpse," reports said.

According to The Sun, an enraged elephant from a wildlife sanctuary "traveled 124 miles" before brutally trampling the woman to death and continuing to attack at its victim's funeral.

Seventy-year-old Maya Murmu collected water from a well in a village in eastern India called Raipal on Thursday when the horrific incident happened.

The gigantic animal had reportedly escaped from the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary in Jharkhand, more than 120 miles away.

The furious elephant stamped on Murmu, inflicting catastrophic injuries. She was brought to a nearby hospital but unfortunately died, according to Rasgovindpur station inspector Lopamudra Nayak.

2nd Attack at the Funeral

The older woman's devastated family held the funeral for her on the same night she died. While the last rites were being performed, the elephant returned and pulled her corpse from the funeral pyre.

For the second time, it stamped on her before throwing her around and escaping. The woman's family eventually managed to perform her last rites a few hours after the attack.

The incident comes following the tragic death of an extremely baby elephant twin due to starvation amid a drought in Amboseli National Park, Kenya, a separate The Sun report said.

Essentially, Twins are a very rare occurrence when elephants give birth, only accounting for roughly one percent of all births.

Essentially, elephant mothers seldom have enough milk to feed both of their babies when they give birth to twins. This means that most of the time, only one calf survives until adulthood

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Elephant Behavior

A report from My Animals specified that "the elephant groups in herds with a matriarchal organization." This means that the herd comprises young females and calves and is guided by the oldest female in the group.

Herds don't typically rotate their members and recognize each other throughout their lives. Males, on the other hand, are independent except when they're mating.

When an elephant species is already very old and ill, the herd is trying to help it get up until it cannot hold itself up anymore.

The herd then groups around it to try to help it. Once the old elephant dies, the others in the group manifest different behaviors like raising their trunk while remaining standing in a posture that implies tension.

When Do Elephants Become Aggressive and Violent?

According to a Wild Explained report, elephants are naturally non-aggressive animals. Although they are not typically aggressive towards humans, they can or will charge when feeling threatened.

For example, female elephants can be very feisty when their young ones are nearby as their means of protection.

Male elephants, on the other hand, are sometimes aggressive when exhibiting dominance. Both male and female elephants can be aggressive when harassed, sick, or injured.

Moreover, when they feel challenged or threatened, elephants react differently. Specifically, they tend to make noise and fuss to exhibit their dominance and reveal their strength.

A report about the raging elephant that trampled a woman to death is shown on Hanne Yam's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on Elephant in Science Times.