Enraged Elephant Discovered to Be a Man-Eater

Local Authorities Opening Up the Man-Eating Elephant

An aggressive and enraged elephant that killed 17 people in India was found to have ingested human remains.  According to zoologist Dave Salmoni, the large mammal went on the rampage after her calf was killed.  When the animal was finally shot by a professional hunter, scientists discovered through DNA samples that the elephant consumed human flesh.

Elephants are strict herbivores and this shocking behavior is thought to be done out of revenge by a crazed mother.  A television special called "World's Deadliest Towns: Killer Elephants" will feature this story and will air February 21st on Animal Planet.

Read the Huffington Post's article here.

Animal of the Week: Indian Giant Squirrel



(Image credit: Wikimedia user Bishancm)

Keeping with National Squirrel Appreciation Day, this week's featured animal is the Indian Giant Squirrel, the largest of the squirrel family. Found primarily in India, the Indian Giant Squirrel's body is typically 14-16 inches long and it's tail is another 20 inches. According to its wikipedia page:

The Indian giant squirrel is an upper-canopy dwelling species, which rarely leaves the trees, and requires "tall profusely branched trees for the construction of nests." It travels from tree to tree with jumps of up to 6 m (19.69 ft). When in danger, the Ratufa indica often freezes or flattens itself against the tree trunk, instead of fleeing. Its main predators are the birds of prey and the leopard. The Giant Squirrel is mostly active in the early hours of the morning and in the evening, resting in the midday. It is a shy, wary animal and not easy to discover.



Some more pics:



Courtesey of Challiyan



Picture By Sinu S Kumar

Taken by Rakesh Kumar Dogra