"Elephant chases bus, scares passengers"

Elephant chases bus, scares passengers

Sumesh Rajan

Mumbai: June 26, 2018

Passengers travelling by a state transport bus from Mysore in Karnataka state to Kozhikode (erstwhile Calicut) in neighbouring Kerala state, India, had a scary time when their bus was chased and attacked by a mother elephant, on June 23. 

The bus with around 60 passengers was passing through the Bandipur Tiger Reserve and National Park at around 6 pm when the incident took place near Mulehole. 

The female elephant was in a herd of five to six elephants which included a calf that were crossing the road. Seeing the herd the bus driver halted at a distance. Apparently sensing danger for its calf, the mother elephant started charging at the bus. 

A video recorded by one of the passengers shows the elephant charging at the bus at speed even as the driver reverses by about 500 meters. 

Nevertheless, the mother elephant catches up and hits the bus with its trunk, cracking the windshield of the bus. ​​

The passengers inside the bus were frightened as well as amsued by the whole incident. The bemused driver started honking and the passengers began screaming which scared the elephant and it rushed back to its herd. 

Forest officials rushed to the spot, and traffic on the road was halted for over half an hour, so that the herd could disperse peacefully into the forest. 

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