Grievous Footage Shows Elephant Mother And Her Baby Set On Fire By Angry Mob

The calf 'screamed in confusion' as it fled while on fire from a 'jeering' mob of men that set it and its mother on fire

The conflict between humans and animals is laid bare in this horrific photo of an angry mob throwing fireballs at a baby elephant and its mother.

A shocking picture showing two elephants running for their lives after being set on fire has won a wildlife photography competition.

The photo was taken by Biplab Hazra in the Bankura district of West Bengal, India where unfortunately there is a conflict between locals and elephants.

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The image won the contest – run by Sanctuary wildlife magazine – and Hazra said the calf was screaming in ‘confusion’ as it fled the ‘crowd of jeering men’, BBC reports.

Biplab said:

"For these smart, gentle, social animals who have roamed the subcontinent for centuries, hell is now and here. It is frequently found that people dwelling near forest take resort to various methods which disturb the wild animals & make them ferocious to take revenge."

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Sanctuary magazine said: ‘In the Bankura district of West Bengal, this sort of humiliation of pachyderms is routine, as it is in the other elephant-range states of Assam, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and more.’

What eventually happened to the two elephants in the award-winning picture is unclear.

Hazra, a brick kiln owner by profession, told The New Indian Express the calf "somehow survived" the attack. Crackers are burst and fires raged to ward off the herds, he said.

"The calf may not have been intentionally set on fire by the villagers living in the vicinity of the elephant corridor that stretches from southwestern West Bengal up to Saranda forest in Jharkhand, but bursting crackers and throwing fireballs on elephant herds has been a common practice in this part of West Bengal," he said.

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It is pertinent to mention here that India is home to some 30,000 Asian elephants and the country boasts having 70% of the total population of the species in the world. However, these animals are in danger as more than 1000 people have been killed by animals during the last three and half years in various states.

The fate of the two elephants is unknown but the wars between humans and animals in India for the shrinking forests is depicted in its severity through this picture

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Proportionally, the elephant’s brain is the most sizeable, at a mass of just over 5kg and according to Elephants Forever, the need for such a large and complex organ becomes clear when we consider the behaviors and abilities of these animals.

Elephants are capable of such a wide range of complex emotions, including joy, playfulness, grief, and mourning.

In addition, elephants are able to learn new facts and behaviours, mimic sounds they hear, self-medicate, perform artistic activities and display compassion and self-awareness.

It’s heart-breaking to see photos like this.

Watch the video here!