Villagers in the town of Bishnupur, India have been photographed hurtling firebombs at confused herds of elephants . (Elephants who recently roamed these areas as part of their natural habitat.) This in an effort to keep the massive pachyderms from destroying crops and creating havoc on their encroached land.
Humans are seen chaotically standing side-by-side, shouting & waving “burning torches” in an effort to keep the Indian elephants out.
Image: CC Flickr by rikkis refuge: human elephant conflict : similar elephant crosses railroad track in India
Elephants are seen endeavoring to cross, some struggling, railroad tracks that now sit where elephant corridors once existed. Elephants endure burns from flaming sticks which often set fire to their elephant bodies & have also been pelted with all kinds of rubbish & rocks.
This cruel human behavior against our Indian elephants has got to stop.
The struggle is called human elephant conflict. There must be peace with these humans who are encroaching upon lands that, for generations, elephants have thrived and called their own.
Elephants are “sentient” & intelligent beings who do not deserve this suffering and pain. Deforestation is slowly robbing our elephants of their habitats & with that, their lives.
When even wild elephants can no longer live as elephants something has got to give. For there cannot be a world without elephants.
Always remember: “Elephants, who have suffered so much at the hands of humans, never lose the ability to forgive even though, being elephants, they will never be able to forget.” Dame Daphne Sheldrick co-founder of The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
Image: CC Wikipedia: similar Indian bull elephant
Watch animation video “The Elephant in Your Heart” at The Daily Mail It explains “elephant sentience & self understanding” : Illustrated and animated by Jeejung Gabin Kim
Source & for all of the graphic photos see: “Indian villagers FIREBOMB mother elephant and her calf as deforestation drives them into the paths of humans” by Chris Dyer for The Daily Mail Online
See also: “Elephants and Bees Project”… (link below)
Wiki: Indian elephants
Images: CC Flickr : similar Asian elephant crossing railroad track in India , & CC Wikipedia: similar Indian elephant bull