It's unclear why the elephants targeted the woman, but wildlife officials say elephants rarely attack without provocation.
For a wild elephant in India, it is not enough to just step on a woman who runs through its path. The elephant also returned to her funeral, knocking her body off the crematorium and stomping on her again.
Maya Murmu, 70, was reportedly fetching water in Odisha when a wild beast suddenly appeared and trampled on her. Although Murmu was taken to the local hospital, she died of her injuries.
Then, when her loved ones gathered to give her a break, the wild elephants reappeared next to the larger herd. It rushed into the funeral, knocked Murmu off her funeral pyre, trampled her body again, and threw it away. The elephants also damaged some houses, including Murmu, the report said.
A villager told: "After seeing the elephant herd on Thursday night, we were terrified. "We've never had such a ferocious herd of elephants before."
Shocked, the family was able to retrieve her body and complete the funeral. This time, the elephant did not return. But the question remains, first of all what prompted the attack — and why the elephants came back to attack Murmou again.
Officials believe the elephant wandered from the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary, as shown in the image above
Experts believe the elephant intersected with Murmou after wandering around the Dharma Wildlife Sanctuary. However, it is unclear why the elephant left the reserve, which elephants favored it, or why it attacked Murmou with such determination and ferocity
According to Duncan McNair, an attorney and founder of conservation charity Save The Asian Elephants, elephants are often gentle animals. Still, it's no secret that they attack humans when provoked.
"These endangered elephants can be a fatal danger, especially when provoked or abused," McNair told Newsweek. "Elephants are usually benign and passive... They don't surprise people who aren't a threat to their safety, babies, or anything like that. [This incident] is surprising because it doesn't show provocation against the elephants. ”
He added: "If [the elephant] was still nearby at the time of the funeral, it is unclear that it might recognize the remains." It may have seen or smelled it, and it may have associated the woman with it or some of the disasters it heard. This is quite possible. ”
In fact, over the past few decades, there has been an increasing conflict between elephants and people. In recent years, a spate of unexplained elephant deaths and elephant attacks on humans have continued.
Adult and juvenile elephants in India. In recent years, there have been increasing conflicts with people and these wild animals
A number of elephant attacks on humans have been reported so far this year. In March, in the Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh Pradesh, a woman was killed by a wild elephant and her grandson was injured. In May, another woman in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu was also trampled to death by an elephant.
Meanwhile, in Odisha, where Murmu was killed, about 1,356 elephants have died unnaturally over the past two decades.
Why is that? Newsweek reported that land development has forced wild elephants closer to humans, and climate change is prompting them to look farther than normal to find water. When people and wild elephants are intertwined, the results are sometimes fatal.
According to Wildlife SOS, anyone who encounters a wild elephant should try to stay calm.
"Please do not disturb or incite the cattle by shouting, throwing stones, throwing cookies, trying to click on selfies, photos, taking videos, or throwing petrol bombs at them," they wrote. ”
They also point out: "The forest and the earth are both theirs and theirs, and you can share the same living space together without harming animals or putting yourself at risk." ”