Berserk Elephant Kills Two

Apr 11, 2005 4:09 pm US/Eastern
GAUHATI, India (AP) An elephant went berserk in a busy shopping area
in northeastern India on Monday, killing two people and injuring two,
a forest guard said.

The elephant trampled the victims after its keeper failed to control
it in the city of Gauhati, the capital of Assam state, forest guard
Narayan Mahanta said.

Veterinarians and forest guards later tranquilized the pachyderm,
Mahanta said.

Elephants are often seen on Indian streets. About 1,500 elephants in
Assam are used for pulling fallen trees and loading them onto
vehicles. The state also has more than 5,000 wild Asiatic elephants,
more than any other region in India.

A court ban on using elephants to pull timber in Assam has cut the
income of keepers, making it more difficult for them to feed the
animals.


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