Lilia Sebouai
An elephant carrying a 650kg sacred gold shrine went on a rampage during a Hindu festival in India, flipping a car and damaging nearby buildings.
Footage showed locals fleeing as authorities attempted to control the Asian elephant before it flung the golden Howdah – a heavy shrine plated with gold and precious gems carrying the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari – off its back.
Somananna, the elephant, its trunk adorned with intricate red and gold paint, had been selected from thousands to lead the main procession of the 10-day sacred Navaratri festival through the streets of Karnataka state, south-west India.
The animal was later sedated and recovering at a nearby temple, officials said.
Ramalinga Reddy, the minister of forest, ecology and environment of Karnataka, said elephants taking part in the ceremony would have to undergo at least 20 days of training in future.
In January, forest officials hunted for an elephant that killed 22 people, tearing through forests and villages in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand state, east India, over several days of attacks.
It was part of a rise in deadly human-elephant conflict in India, driven by rapid deforestation and residential encroachment into traditional elephant corridors. Some 10 per cent of safe routes for elephant migration no longer exist.
As their natural food and water sources shrink, hungry elephants enter farms and villages, which increasingly results in retaliatory killings.
Between 2019 and 2023, more than 2800 people in India died from encounters with elephants, according to government data. Nearly 630 deaths were recorded in 2023.
Elephants are also dying in high numbers. On average, more than 100 wild elephants die each year from human-related causes, according to the World Wildlife Fund. It can include electrocution, train hits and retaliatory poisonings.
In states such as Andhra Pradesh, AI early warning systems have been introduced in some villages to detect elephant intrusions and protect villagers.
Wild elephants are growing increasingly endangered: there are between 500,000 and 530,000 alive. They’re divided into three recognised species: roughly 350,000 African bush elephants, 135,000 African forest elephants and about 45,000 Asian elephants.