A Mother's Rage and Revenge: Elephant Kills 17 and Eats Human Flesh

full story and comments: www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/18/maneating-elephant-featur_n_825345.html

The Huffington Post
Joanna Zelman
02/18/11

After a rogue elephant killed 17 people in India, locals knew it had to be stopped. Once the animal was killed, DNA tests on the contents of its stomach revealed something even more terrifying: the elephant had consumed human flesh.

According to zoologist Dave Salmoni, humans are to blame for the herbivore's shocking behavior. In this clip from his new TV show, he claims this particular man-eating elephant lashed out in an act of revenge after her calf was killed.
Elephants have recently witnessed their homes destroyed to make room for crop fields. Raids have forced elephant herds to split up, and the animals can grow exhausted and increasingly stressed and in turn, aggressive.

Elephants aren't the only ones reacting aggressively to human imposition. ABC News reports that in one part of India, tigers killed 14 people from just one village last year. The Bengal species is being threatened by rising sea levels and hunters encroaching on their territory.

But when it comes to the elephants, Salmoni is clear on who's to blame, stating that the animals "are man-made monsters. It's us, not the elephants, who will decide what happens next."

"World's Deadliest Towns: Killer Elephants" debuts February 21st on Animal Planet.