# Condition of victims of wild elephant attacks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 30, 2016, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condition-of-victims-of-wild-elephant-attacks/758825 "2016-06-30T20:05:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condition-of-victims-of-wild-elephant-attacks/758825/1 "2016-06-30T20:05:51Z")
I was just wondering – how badly mangled / “squished” would a human be after getting attacked by a wild elephant (Asian or African)? Are they usually fairly intact? Or are they flattened? The elephant is one animal who would certainly be capable of squishing a puny human; but I’m not sure if they actually do that! (I do realize that, in times past, some elephants were employed as executioners, and certainly did stomp and squish on command. But that would be an instance of a highly-trained animal acting on a human’s orders; I’m wondering what a wild’n’angry proboscidean would do.) ---
**Author:** ![DudeManBro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@DudeManBro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudeManBro)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condition-of-victims-of-wild-elephant-attacks/758825/2 "2016-06-30T20:15:31Z")
6+ tons of enraged beast stomping on you would turn you pretty mushy and flat I believe. Can you think of a single organ or bone that can withstand this on a human body? So I guess it depends on how much time/effort the ele puts into it? Interesting tidbit, I recall reading from a book about man-eaters and rogues, that elephants sometimes cover the remains of their flattened victims with vegetation. ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condition-of-victims-of-wild-elephant-attacks/758825/3 "2016-06-30T20:20:13Z")
Read Orwell’s essay _Shooting an Elephant_. He gives a very explicit description… ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condition-of-victims-of-wild-elephant-attacks/758825/4 "2016-06-30T20:35:20Z")
I doubt anyone could survive a stomp on the midsection or head. You’d be lucky not to lose an arm or leg getting stomped there. If the elephant really wants you dead it will crush you with it’s head. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condition-of-victims-of-wild-elephant-attacks/758825/5 "2016-06-30T21:03:46Z")
> [@Ignotus](#): > > Read Orwell’s essay _Shooting an Elephant_. He gives a very explicit description… Yes he did! Fascinating reading. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condition-of-victims-of-wild-elephant-attacks/758825/6 "2016-06-30T21:11:55Z")
Netflix has a documentary on [Tyke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyke_(elephant)), an elephant that went berserk during a circus show in Honolulu in the 90s. They have actual footage of his trainer being killed. He wasn’t stomped flat but he was kicked around like a rag doll. I mean this literally, it’s hard to believe I was watching an adult human being. It was surreal and horrifying. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condition-of-victims-of-wild-elephant-attacks/758825/7 "2016-06-30T22:55:32Z")
An elephant is certainly capable of smashing someone rather flat if it chooses to. As has been said, it depends on how pissed they are and how thorough a job they want to make of it. A typical victim may only be hit with the trunk or kicked, and be fairly intact. Others may look like they got run over by a truck. [Karl Akeley,](http://www.badassoftheweek.com/akeley.html) who created many of the dioramas at the American Museum of Natural History, survived an attack by an elephant. After smacking Akeley with its trunk, it essentially tried to do a headstand on top of him. He was saved when one of its tusks hit a rock and prevented it from mashing him into the ground. As the article describes, Akeley also once was attacked by a leopard but was able to kill it by shoving his fist down its throat and strangling it. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condition-of-victims-of-wild-elephant-attacks/758825/8 "2016-06-30T23:23:00Z")
I recall reading a book by a hunter in Africa (set in the 1930s) who said that while some elephants seek to trample their victims, others prefer the “dismember with the trunk” method. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condition-of-victims-of-wild-elephant-attacks/758825/9 "2016-07-01T19:35:10Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Netflix has a documentary on [Tyke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyke_(elephant)), an elephant that went berserk during a circus show in Honolulu in the 90s. They have actual footage of his trainer being killed. He wasn’t stomped flat but he was kicked around like a rag doll. I mean this literally, it’s hard to believe I was watching an adult human being. It was surreal and horrifying. You’re not kidding. Here’s the attack on YouTube. _Be warned, it’s fucking disturbing, especially shooting the elephant in the street._ [Linky](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4IH-EqoHws) ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condition-of-victims-of-wild-elephant-attacks/758825/10 "2016-07-01T19:50:55Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > You’re not kidding. Here’s the attack on YouTube. > > _Be warned, it’s fucking disturbing, especially shooting the elephant in the street._ > > [Linky](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4IH-EqoHws) Holy Cow! Amazing footage. What a tragedy! Thanks for sharing. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condition-of-victims-of-wild-elephant-attacks/758825/11 "2016-07-01T20:04:22Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [Karl Akeley,](http://www.badassoftheweek.com/akeley.html) who created many of the dioramas at the American Museum of Natural History, survived an attack by an elephant. After smacking Akeley with its trunk, it essentially tried to do a headstand on top of him. He was saved when one of its tusks hit a rock and prevented it from mashing him into the ground. > > As the article describes, Akeley also once was attacked by a leopard but was able to kill it by shoving his fist down its throat and strangling it. :eek: I never realized creating dioramas was such a dangerous profession. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condition-of-victims-of-wild-elephant-attacks/758825/12 "2016-07-01T20:11:35Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Akeley also once was attacked by a leopard but was able to kill it by shoving his fist down its throat and strangling it. :eek: Serious badass. And what have YOU done today? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condition-of-victims-of-wild-elephant-attacks/758825/13 "2016-07-02T00:41:50Z")
The crushing-by-forehead surprised me. Keeps them in view, I guess, and is more manageable in a tight space. Execution by elephant step was a thing in … India? Thailand? **Siam Siam** should know. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condition-of-victims-of-wild-elephant-attacks/758825/14 "2016-07-02T00:46:56Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > The crushing-by-forehead surprised me. Keeps them in view, I guess, and is more manageable in a tight space. Really tight space is the way to survive a head crushing. They have big heads, get between some rocks, beside a log, or the corner where a wall meets the ground and you may survive. They kill predators this way, which means usually means predators after their children. I assume a lion tossed by trunk may survive, they want to see it totally dead. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condition-of-victims-of-wild-elephant-attacks/758825/15 "2016-07-02T03:55:51Z")
[Execution by Elephant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution_by_elephant). In particular, [this passage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution_by_elephant#Southeast_Asia): \*\*In Siam, elephants were trained to throw the condemned into the air before trampling them to death. Alexander Hamilton provides the following account from Siam: For Treason and Murder, the Elephant is the Executioner. The condemned Person is made fast to a Stake driven into the Ground for the Purpose, and the Elephant is brought to view him, and goes twice or thrice round him, and when the Elephant’s Keeper speaks to the monstrous Executioner, he twines his Trunk round the Person and Stake, and pulling the Stake from the Ground with great Violence, tosses the Man and the Stake into the Air, and in coming down, receives him on his Teeth, and making him off again, puts one of his fore Feet on the Carcase, and squeezes it flat.\*\* There have been a number of wild-elephant attacks in Thailand over the years. I recall one TV reporter reporting on a herd of wild elephants, and he got just a tad too close to them. A mother bent on protecting her baby charged him. He survived but did look a little flat to my eye. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condition-of-victims-of-wild-elephant-attacks/758825/16 "2016-07-02T03:59:44Z")
Who predates on an elephant? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condition-of-victims-of-wild-elephant-attacks/758825/17 "2016-07-02T05:08:34Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Who predates on an elephant? [Lions will kill young elephants](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp9EC4tS-Q0), and an entire pride can [sometimes even take down an adult](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2ZW0EvMzSM) (attack begins at about 5:30). ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condition-of-victims-of-wild-elephant-attacks/758825/18 "2016-07-02T10:39:51Z")
I believe tigers too.