A nerve-wracking face-off occurred between an elephant and a public bus in the Nilgiris district, Coonoor, southern India, where the elephant ran at the bus, shattering its windscreen with its tusks.
On September 25, one of the passengers captured this dramatic confrontation on camera. The state-owned bus, ferrying government employees from Kotagiri to Mettupalayam, stopped to allow an elephant to pass.
However, the situation changed dramatically when the elephant started charging at the bus.
Video footage shows the bus initially backing off, which provoked the elephant more, spurring it into a faster chase.
Adapting to the situation, the bus driver decided to halt, remaining seated even as the elephant battered the windscreen, to the audible shock of the passengers.
Unyielding, the elephant continued blocking the bus path, smashing the windscreen once again. The driver, responding with composure, guided the passengers to the bus’s rear end as the elephant made one final charge at the windscreen.
According to local reports, the elephant eventually retreated into the forest. Displaying cool-headed, the driver resumed the journey, ensuring his passengers reached their destination safely.
The driver’s calm and calculated reaction won him accolades from the authorities. “Huge respect for the driver of this Government bus in Nilgiris who kept his cool even under the terrifying hits on the bus from an agitated tusker.
He helped passengers move back safely in an incident today morning. That’s why they say a cool mind works wonders,” Supriya Sahu, Principal Secretary, Environment, Climate Change & Forests, at the Government of Tamil Nadu, lauded the driver on Twitter.
Similarly, buses are not the only targets of elephants’ wrath. Recently, an elephant was caught on camera attacking a massive sculpture at the Khao Yai National Park in Thailand, confusing it for a rival male encroaching on its mating privileges.
National Park officer Ple Srichai speculated that the elephant may have perceived the sculpture as threatening his breeding rights.
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