And We Still Call THEM Animals

The cries of three elephant calves and four adult elephants must have filled the lonely jungle stretch near the Moraghat railway crossing at Binnaguri in West Bengal on Wednesday night (22 Sep 2010), when  an Assam-bound goods train from Siliguri rammed into the herd mowing down all of them mercilessly. 

It is understood that two of the calves had got stuck in the tracks and the other adults were trying to help them out, when this incident occurred. It would have been a horrifying and scene when after the train hurled around these elephants with its high speed following which the mother elephant came charging towards the loco.  And instead of trying to save this elephant, the driver accelerated and killed her too, with large parts of her body clogged in the wheels of the train, driven by a man, went on, on the blood splattered rail tracks.  The train had to be reversed to unclog the flesh and bones of the mother elephant. 



poor baby elephant

What the Administration says :



Railways, however, maintained that the tragic incident happened because they did not get any advance information from forest officials about elephant movement in that particular section, which is not a notified elephant corridor.
While the forest ministry has the responsibility of notifying a particular stretch as an elephant corridor where loco pilots are given instructions to be extra vigilant, restrict train speed to maximum of 50 kmph and whistle constantly, railway officials claimed that the incident happened outside the notified elephant corridors.

Reactions:



If the elephants were outraged with the killing, the locals were also grieving the loss. It was a black day on Friday for those residing near the Gorumaara wildlife sanctuary and other adjoining areas. Sporting black badges, members of an ecological development committee, local tourists and various tourism-related organisations came together to offer their condolences to the dead animals at the Nature Interpretation Centre. Senior Forest officials were also present on the occasion.



People offering flowers to the dead elephant

It has come as a shock to the whole nation.  I wonder, how will that man driving the goods train be able to sleep for the nights to come.  Is it not pure insensitivity towards animals?  Elephants by nature are peaceful animals and so useful to man too.

I read in a website that a herd of elephants assembled at the same railways track the next day, at the same time, trumpeting and searching for the baby elephants.  And when they could not find them, the angry elephants went on a rampage, however no casualty has been reported. 

When we are so careful about our own children, why do we become feelingless for others - same species or different species?

RESTLESS