# Has an animal ever stopped its rampage because it met a human that had treated it well?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-animal-ever-stopped-its-rampage-because-it-met-a-human-that-had-treated-it-well/812669
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 18, 2018, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-animal-ever-stopped-its-rampage-because-it-met-a-human-that-had-treated-it-well/812669 "2018-04-18T22:43:41Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2018, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-animal-ever-stopped-its-rampage-because-it-met-a-human-that-had-treated-it-well/812669/1 "2018-04-18T22:43:41Z")
Are there any documented incidents of an animal going on a rampage only to stop and calm down when met by a human that had treated it kindly? I.e. it knew that human was a friend.
I’m particularly thinking of elephants and bulls here, but other animals are welcome! This is GQ so apocryphal stories like the thorn in the foot don’t count.
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### Author:  [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2018, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-animal-ever-stopped-its-rampage-because-it-met-a-human-that-had-treated-it-well/812669/2 "2018-04-18T22:53:25Z")
It has a lot to do with why it is rampaging. If it is a testosterone related rampage there is a poor chance of a human intervening. A temper tantrum will very often be trumped by a strong bond. A rampaging elephant is a tough one, they do form strong bonds and my guess would be the only chance a handler would have in a rampage would be a strong bond but I can’t come up with any examples.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2018, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-animal-ever-stopped-its-rampage-because-it-met-a-human-that-had-treated-it-well/812669/3 "2018-04-18T23:07:42Z")
When elephants go on rampages, it’s almost always testosterone-related. Males periodically go through a stage called musth, when they’re most fertile and super-horny, and incidentally super-destructive to anything that isn’t a female elephant.
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### Author:  [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2018, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-animal-ever-stopped-its-rampage-because-it-met-a-human-that-had-treated-it-well/812669/4 "2018-04-19T01:54:15Z")
Isn’t there some joke(s) told either by a friendly farmer or an animal with the punch-line “so I can eat you (or save the best part) last?”
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### Author:  [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2018, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-animal-ever-stopped-its-rampage-because-it-met-a-human-that-had-treated-it-well/812669/5 "2018-04-19T03:48:41Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#):
>
> Isn’t there some joke(s) told either by a friendly farmer or an animal with the punch-line “so I can eat you (or save the best part) last?”
Yes (you don’t eat a pig like that all at once!).
**Quartz** , I think there are any number of examples of human-animal interactions where a known human calmed down an angry animal or a human acted in a non-threatening way and was able to calm down an animal.
In terms of examples, I found accounts of Lawrence Anthony, AKA the “Elephant Whisperer”. He lived and worked on a reserve and was known for taking in violent elephants who were otherwise likely to be destroyed. This site contains [an excerpt](http://www.beliefnet.com/inspiration/home-page-news-and-views/wild-elephants-mourn-death-of-famed-elephant-whisperer.aspx) from his book that details one episode that meets your criteria.
It’s a fun topic to research. I’ll let you know what else I dig up.
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### Author:  [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2018, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-animal-ever-stopped-its-rampage-because-it-met-a-human-that-had-treated-it-well/812669/6 "2018-04-19T08:53:35Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#):
>
> Isn’t there some joke(s) told either by a friendly farmer or an animal with the punch-line “so I can eat you (or save the best part) last?”
Isn’t that Cthulhu? Oh wait, that’s being eaten first. 🙂
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### Author:  [@7happycreations](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/7happycreations)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2018, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-animal-ever-stopped-its-rampage-because-it-met-a-human-that-had-treated-it-well/812669/7 "2018-04-19T11:00:56Z")
Wife and I were at a zoo some few weeks back. We made it to the Hippopotamus building and started walking through it, past maybe 5-6 Hippos, big and small.
Came up to a smaller one that seemed to be fixated on something in my direction. Turned out to be me. So I started to stare back. After like 30 seconds it “roared” and continued to glare and snorted. So much so a group of people turned to check me. It was a David Lynch moment that’s for sure. What did I do? My wife was mortified but laughing.
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### Author:  [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2018, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-animal-ever-stopped-its-rampage-because-it-met-a-human-that-had-treated-it-well/812669/8 "2018-04-19T12:02:59Z")
Do cats and dogs count in this? I’ve seen examples of this personally to a lesser degree.
How about people? Are they animals? Common tactic is to get someone who knows them well to talk to them when they are in crisis.
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### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2018, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-animal-ever-stopped-its-rampage-because-it-met-a-human-that-had-treated-it-well/812669/9 "2018-04-19T15:42:03Z")
This is not an example, but a case where the animals immediately regretted their attack, It happened while reintroducing a troup of bonobos to the wild.
> [@](#):
>
> As the bonobos gradually got used to their newfound freedom, they became increasingly confused by the persisting presence of the trackers. “On the day of the attack, we were following them along the riverbank when one of the males got separated from the group and began to feel threatened by us. He called the others back to help protect him,” Likofata remembers. “When they all began to approach us, one of the other trackers panicked and threw a big stick at the bonobos to try to disperse them. Then they all came for us. We couldn’t escape.”
>
> In the ensuing melee, Likofata was quickly rendered unconscious. When he came to about a quarter of an hour later, he instinctively put his hand to his face and found a gaping hole. There was so much blood in his eyes that he thought he was blind. “When I wiped the blood away, I saw that the bonobos were still not far from me. They realized I was alive and quickly encircled me again, but this time they were holding out their hands to beg for forgiveness.”
From [here](http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/eij/article/back_into_the_wild/)
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### Author:  [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2018, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-animal-ever-stopped-its-rampage-because-it-met-a-human-that-had-treated-it-well/812669/10 "2018-04-19T16:45:27Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> When elephants go on rampages, it’s almost always testosterone-related. Males periodically go through a stage called musth, when they’re most fertile and super-horny, and incidentally super-destructive to anything that isn’t a female elephant.
Nitpick: actually, [musth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musth) isn’t clearly connected to _rut_ in elephants; it seems to be all about aggression, and female elephants wisely tend to stay clear of males in musth.
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### Author:  [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2018, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-animal-ever-stopped-its-rampage-because-it-met-a-human-that-had-treated-it-well/812669/11 "2018-04-19T17:06:37Z")
> [@7happycreations](#):
>
> Wife and I were at a zoo some few weeks back. We made it to the Hippopotamus building and started walking through it, past maybe 5-6 Hippos, big and small.
> Came up to a smaller one that seemed to be fixated on something in my direction. Turned out to be me. So I started to stare back. After like 30 seconds it “roared” and continued to glare and snorted. So much so a group of people turned to check me. It was a David Lynch moment that’s for sure. What did I do? My wife was mortified but laughing.
You shouldn’t have been singing the “Hungry Hungry Hippos” jingle…
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### Author:  [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2018, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-animal-ever-stopped-its-rampage-because-it-met-a-human-that-had-treated-it-well/812669/12 "2018-04-19T21:48:32Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#):
>
> In terms of examples, I found accounts of Lawrence Anthony, AKA the “Elephant Whisperer”. He lived and worked on a reserve and was known for taking in violent elephants who were otherwise likely to be destroyed. This site contains [an excerpt](http://www.beliefnet.com/inspiration/home-page-news-and-views/wild-elephants-mourn-death-of-famed-elephant-whisperer.aspx) from his book that details one episode that meets your criteria.
Damn but it’s dusty in here.
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### Author:  [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2018, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-animal-ever-stopped-its-rampage-because-it-met-a-human-that-had-treated-it-well/812669/13 "2018-04-20T15:22:38Z")
Not exactly what you are looking for but I watched a documentary about raising a Bengal tiger from an orphaned cub. He was returned to the wild and it was many years before the guy who raised him could get a chance to see him. They tracked the tiger down and the guy got out of the Jeep somewhat apprehensively. The tiger surveyed the scene for awhile, then crouched and charged from 100 feet away. When it got to the guy it leaped onto its hind legs and threw its legs over the guys shoulder and damn near licked him to death. It was really heart warming to see. Some bonds remain for life.
Dennis
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### Author:  [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2018, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-animal-ever-stopped-its-rampage-because-it-met-a-human-that-had-treated-it-well/812669/14 "2018-04-20T16:17:40Z")
> [@mixdenny](#):
>
> Not exactly what you are looking for but I watched a documentary about raising a Bengal tiger from an orphaned cub. He was returned to the wild and it was many years before the guy who raised him could get a chance to see him. They tracked the tiger down and the guy got out of the Jeep somewhat apprehensively. The tiger surveyed the scene for awhile, then crouched and charged from 100 feet away. When it got to the guy it leaped onto its hind legs and threw its legs over the guys shoulder and damn near licked him to death. It was really heart warming to see. Some bonds remain for life.
>
> Dennis
This sounds suspiciously like the story of Christian the lion:
> **[Christian the lion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_the_lion)**
>
> Christian the lion (12 August 1969 – ?) was a lion born in captivity and purchased by Australian John Rendall and Anthony "Ace" Bourke from Harrods department store in London in 1969. He was later reintroduced to the African wild by conservationist George Adamson. Two years after Adamson released Christian to the wild, his former owners decided to go looking for him to see whether Christian would remember them. He did, and with him were two lionesses who accepted the men as well.
> Christian was...
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btuxO-C2IzE)
Apologies for the soundtrack - everyone uploading it seems to feel the need.
j
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### Author:  [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2018, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-an-animal-ever-stopped-its-rampage-because-it-met-a-human-that-had-treated-it-well/812669/15 "2018-04-20T17:03:13Z")
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc5uX0P5jJU)