Several elephants have attacked two people across southern India in a 24-hour period, claiming the life of one man.
K Sambasivam, aged 55, was trampled to death early on Monday morning local time by a wild elephant in his hometown of Maharajakadai in the Indian province of Tamil Nadu, according to the newspaper The Times of India.
Only hours before, on Sunday evening, a 14-year-old named Sarath was seriously injured in an elephant trampling in the small tribal town of Pakkom in the province of Kerala, according to The Hindi. This town is around 190 miles west of the site of the other attack.
Elephants found in India are Asian elephants, which are classified as an endangered species on the IUCN Red List. There are only between 20,000 and 40,000 Asian elephants left in the wild, around half of which live in India. Despite being smaller than their African elephant cousins, Asian elephants are still enormous, weighing up to 8,000 pounds.
Asian elephants are usually docile creatures, but when provoked or feeling threatened, can be incredibly dangerous. Around 500 people are killed by the mammals in India alone every year, according to the country’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Attacks may be more common during the breeding season, when male elephants tend to be more aggressive, or when mothers have recently given birth and are more protective over their calves.
