This is Tshokwane who is depicted on the cover of the below mentioned book. If this image does not give you nightmare, you are either stone cold, or you have never been charged and whacked by one of these remarkable creatures.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Original Artworks by Dave Hadaway
Posted by
Wade G. Burck
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5 comments:
Wade - It gives me chills and I've never seen one get angry enough to attack. What can you do when this happens?
Jeannie
Jeannie,
As we saw by these videos, what you don't do is scream/yell/whistle or throw rocks. It is ineffective and just tires you out, so you can't run fast.
Wade
Wade - Well, common sense would tell me that throwing rocks at an angry elephant would not calm it down. As a spectator, I would be going in the opposite direction. But, what could you as the trainer do to stop it and protect the elephant and the spectators?
Jeannie
Jeannie,
Those were trainers/mahouts throwing rocks.
Nothing you can do, except know your animal well enough, and have them secured and safe before that does happen.
Wade
Nothing reminds us how powerless we are like an elephant deciding it has had its fill, and is going to smash stuff or run off. I once watched what was considered by many an "accomplished" elephant man (father was a legend) decide to break up two elephants fighting (one of which I was supposed to be watching). Being 15 and never having seen elephants really fight, when he asked if I was going to do something, I responded "yeah, stay the fuck outta their way and watch these two Africans" He ran rite in to his elephant, and was tossed back out like a rag doll. Eventually one of them cried uncle, and everything was fine. I learned that day that sometimes humans can only cause, but not stop the effect.
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