Trouble Maker

This tusker was in musth when our department driver noticed it just around the bend. The first thing he said was, ‘Let’s turn the jeep before it comes to attack us.’ Indeed, the elephant came charging from a distance of 600 meters. The driver also pointed out that this tusker always appears agitated when it sees a jeep. This led me to wonder if there might have been a negative encounter or experience with this elephant outside the wild, which has altered its behavior in this way. Shockingly, I saw a video the same week where this tusker was chasing a Jungle Lodges jeep head-on in the Antharasanthe Range (Kabini) while tourists were on a safari. This incident highlights how elephants can travel great distances and still leaves me curious about the reasons for its aggressive behavior.