A wild elephant ran through the city of Siliguri, India, on Feb. 10, damaging motorcycles, shops, and houses along the way.
Emerging from the Baikunthapur forest, the elephant wrecked havoc in Siliguri for seven hours before it was subdued by wildlife authorities, the Indian Express reports.
A crowd gathered to block the elephant’s path, but that only made things worse, and ultimately the elephant damaged over 40 shops and houses as well as some motor vehicles.
A wild elephant walks through Siliguri on Feb. 10, 2016. (Diptendu Dutta/AFP/Getty Images)
A wild elephant walks through Siliguri on February 10, 2016. The adult male elephant was tranquilized and captured by wildlife officials and transported to a nearby forest. (Diptendu Dutta/AFP/Getty Images)
Indian bystanders watch as a wild elephant walks along a busy street in Siliguri on February 10, 2016. The adult male elephant was tranquilized and captured by wildlife officials and transported to a nearby forest. (Diptendu Dutta/AFP/Getty Images)
Indian bystanders watch as a wild elephant walks along a busy street in Siliguri on February 10, 2016. (Diptendu Dutta/AFP/Getty Images)
“People flocked in thousands and tried to create a barricade. It could have been easily driven out otherwise through the Ektiasal area,” Animesh Bose, programme coordinator of Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation, told the Indian Express.
Eventually, wildlife officials were able to hit the elephant with a tranquilizer dart, and it was lifted into a truck with two cranes.
Indian wildlife officials use a crane to lift a wild elephant that had been walking through a busy street in Siliguri on Feb. 10, 2016. The adult male elephant was tranquilised and captured by wildlife officials and transported to a nearby forest. (Diptendu Dutta/AFP/Getty Images)
Indian wildlife officials use a crane to lift a wild elephant that had been walking through a busy street in Siliguri on February 10, 2016. The adult male elephant was tranquilized and captured by wildlife officials and transported to a nearby forest. (Diptendu Dutta/AFP/Getty Images)
The elephant will be examined by veterinarians before it’s released to a wildlife sanctuary.
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