17:54 GMT08 August 2021
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    An East Indian town was rampaged by a massive wild elephant smashing everything in her path on Wednesday, before the enormous beast was tranquilized and returned to the forest.

    Baby Elephant Falls and Rolls Down a Hill
    © Photo : Youtube/Kruger Sightings
    As the elephant ran through the town of Siliguri in West Bengal, she trampled parked cars, smashed homes, and sent residents running. She had wandered into the densely populated area from Baikunthapur forest. She did not attack or harm any people, and witnesses say that she appeared to be afraid of them.

    "The elephant was scared and was trying to go back to the jungle," said 40-year-old homemaker Papaiya Sarkar.

    People run as they follow a wild elephant that strayed into the town of Siliguri in West Bengal state, India, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016. The elephant had wandered from the Baikunthapur forest on Wednesday, crossing roads and a small river before entering the town. The panicked elephant ran amok, trampling parked cars and motorbikes before it was tranquilized.
    © AP Photo / ASSOCIATED PRESS
    People run as they follow a wild elephant that strayed into the town of Siliguri in West Bengal state, India, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016. The elephant had wandered from the Baikunthapur forest on Wednesday, crossing roads and a small river before entering the town. The panicked elephant ran amok, trampling parked cars and motorbikes before it was tranquilized.

    A wild elephant that strayed into the town moves through the streets as people follow at Siliguri in West Bengal state, India, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016.
    © AP Photo / ASSOCIATED PRESS
    A wild elephant that strayed into the town moves through the streets as people follow at Siliguri in West Bengal state, India, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016.
    Divisional Forest Officer Basab Rai stated that the elephant does not appear to belong to a herd, and was likely searching for food when she stumbled upon the town.

    Eventually, the massive pachyderm was shot with a tranquilizer three times and then lifted with a crane and placed on a truck, before being carried out of town and brought to a forest department park for domesticated elephants. Authorities planned to return her to the forest once the tranquilizers wear off.

    Elephants coming in contact with humans has been growing increasingly common as their habitats shrink, and in India and Sri Lanka, more than 400 elephants and 250 humans are killed in such encounters each year.

    Indian elephants are endangered and face extreme threats of habitat loss and illegal poaching. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has found that the population size has decreased at least 50% over the last three generations.

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    Tags:
    West Bengal, Siliguri, Baikunthapur Forest, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Elephant
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