'Hell is Here' for burning elephants in award-winning photo

I may be on losing side of this argument but elephants in these rural regions in India and elsewhere have been responsible for a lot of damage and a few human deaths due to their rampaging through villages. The article stats there was one incident where an elephant was destroying cars and homes before being captured and released elsewhere by authorities.

I think context is important here. We are sitting behind computers in the developed world expressing our outrage at what these villagers are doing in this photo. Those villagers lost property and may have lost loved ones to a wild animal that they had to remove. I think a person's view of wild life changes based on their interactions with it.

Small villages in in this region are typically dirt poor, do not have the ability to simply go out to the store and replace items destroyed by elephants.Items that their family may be dependent on. They do not have insurance on their homes that have been destroyed so their reaction, while looking savage and brutal to western eyes, they deem necessary to prevent future incidents or to punish offending animals.

Here in America we put down animals that are deemed a danger to human populations. We have access to more humane means of doing this often times, they may not.

If you look at American history, we handled threats on the frontier in a similar manner. Not with tar fire bombs I'll grant you but with equipment no less brutal to the animals.

Put yourselves in their shoes before condemning them.

originally posted by: Jefferton

originally posted by: stosh64
a reply to: Metallicus

That picture wouldn't bother me near as much if it was only the people on fire.

Humans suck

Can't agree more.

By all means then, prove it. Light yourself on fire.

Pics or it didn't happen.

a reply to: bphi1908

I understand all that. How is it that African villagers facing the same issues can come up with better ways to deter the local wildlife than throwing flaming tar balls at them?

I think they use powdered pepper ... basically elephant grade pepper spray.

Unfortunately for relations between elephants and humans, elephants remember the location of every watering hole, river and stream they have ever found. This is remembered by the matriach of the group of elephants. They might wander over hundreds of miles over several years. Unfortunately, by the time they come back, a village has sprung up around that watering hole. So they tear the place up trying to get to the water which they can smell. Any crops planted may get trampled and or eaten. That causes some grief with the residents.

originally posted by: nightbringr

originally posted by: Jefferton

originally posted by: stosh64
a reply to: Metallicus

That picture wouldn't bother me near as much if it was only the people on fire.

Humans suck

Can't agree more.

By all means then, prove it. Light yourself on fire.

Pics or it didn't happen.

Are you done? Or do you need nap time?

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: bphi1908

I understand all that. How is it that African villagers facing the same issues can come up with better ways to deter the local wildlife than throwing flaming tar balls at them?

I think they use powdered pepper ... basically elephant grade pepper spray.

That is an interesting question that I do not have an answer to.

a reply to: bphi1908

These animals have had their corridors of travel narrowed or closed off by farmers .

They have travelled unimpeded for hundreds of years. Now they find themselves trapped in these once elephant "roads", do you blame the Elephants ?

Do you think they could find a more humane means of driving them away ?

You, as a supposedly superior human can not seriously justify this behaviour.

www.google.com.au...

a reply to: introvert

If you're comparing this to hunting game here in the U.S. you are wrong. People in the states don't throw Molotovs at Deer or Antelope.

a reply to: Metallicus

There's no down votes on ATS so I'm going to share an old joke this reminds me of:

Q. Why do ducks have webbed feet?
A. To put out forest fires.
Q. Why do elephants have big flat feet?
A. To put out burning ducks.

a reply to: bphi1908

Here it is. Peppers and bees, both of which add extra income to the farmers.

I agree that anyone who sets a living being on fire need the same done to them .
You can't blame an animal for being an animal, especially when you take away their natural environment, the mother was probably protecting her baby , I doubt that she came out of nowhere and attacked for no reason.

originally posted by: introvert
Not much difference between what these idiots are doing and what the hunters do everyday here in the US.

It is very different to hunt for food Vs. torturing a creature.

originally posted by: NerdGoddess
I understand wild life can be a problem for our species. Especially strong powerful animals like the Elephant or the Jaguar etc....

But what the hell man.

If you have to kill it then kill it, don't torture and burn it what in the faq

-Alee

I'm not convinced the villagers have firearms and would use them if they did, being in a rural area they are protecting their crops and families any way they can. The Elephants are held in esteem and tolerated as much as they can be. I suspect the Elephants thick skin protected them from any pain and they were just scared. hope so

They have travelled unimpeded for hundreds of years. Now they find themselves trapped in these once elephant "roads", do you blame the Elephants ?

nope.

Do you think they could find a more humane means of driving them away ?

yep.

You, as a supposedly superior human can not seriously justify this behaviour.

nope, to understand the reasons for a behavior does not equal justification or approval. I think this is a better approach to problem solving than some of the other things I seen on this thread about how the humans deserve to be burned alive.

I also read through my post again and didn't see anywhere that could lead anyone to conclude that I believe I am a "supposedly superior human" but thanks. Unfortunately I am just an average guy with opinion and wifi access.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: bphi1908

Here it is. Peppers and bees, both of which add extra income to the farmers.

How is it that African villagers facing the same issues can come up with better ways to deter the local wildlife than throwing flaming tar balls at them?

Thanks for the information but I was saying I don't know why these villagers decided to throw fire bombs at the elephants vs pepper spray or other deterrent. I simply don't know the answer to this question.

a reply to: bphi1908

My point is that India tends to be a cruel place when it comes to wildlife.

Africans seem to show more compassion than Indians. I think a lot of people have the perception of people from India as always going out of their way to not harm a fly due to those pictures of sacred cows and the temple full of rats and offering cobras milk, but that's only a small part of the full picture.

a reply to: Metallicus

This is disgusting.

I'd like to burn the m-fers that did this. No remorse.

a reply to: stosh64

Humans suck.

While rogue elephants are dangerous--extremely so, or so I'm told. They're listed among the five most dangerous animals in Africa for a very good reason. Not sure if Indian elephants differ in that, I've heard that they are much less temperamental than their African cousins.

This is unconscionable. Chase them away, kill them if you must--but that? No, never that.

a reply to: seagull

The big danger with the Indian elephants is that you cannot see them in forested areas until it is too late.

Oh look, it's India being a sack of crap again. Why am I not shocked.

I hate to go wide-brush on an entire country because I'm going hypocritical here for tsk-tsking others for doing that, but between the caste system, rampant rape culture (and you think the US has one? HA!) and general no F's given view on living in utter filth & pollution -- see the Ganges & other rivers full of sewage & the dead, public urination & defecation, trash disposal habits & toxic dumping -- I'm not exactly surprised they can't muster the stones to take better care of & respect themselves, their environment, OR their animals. Burning these elephants seems par for the course.

My view isn't just from pictures alone, I used to work for Indians for years. They were very open about the state of their country, and why it's somewhere they never want to return to -- the culture, they said, doesn't see the abuse or filth as a negative. A slim minority does, but they're ignored. If natives think it's that bad back home, I'm not going to argue with them.