A Nepalese elephant named Dhurbe, responsible for at least 25 human deaths, has once again attacked the same family it had been targeting for 14 years.
The incident took place last Sunday: the animal broke into a home in the village of Jagatpur and trampled a mother and her four-year-old child to death.
According to The Kathmandu Post, this marks the elephant’s third assault on members of a single household — the first occurred in December 2012.
A local resident, Shanichara Bote, reported that in 2012, Dhurbe killed his father and mother. Following that tragedy, the family sold their property in Dropatinagar (Madi district) and relocated to Jagatpur, hoping that the wide rivers would shield them from wild elephants. However, 14 years later, the same male tracked down their new home, breached the fence, and killed Shanichara’s daughter-in-law and his young grandson.
“We have nowhere left to run,” the man is quoted as saying by the publication.
The elephant Dhurbe resides in Chitwan National Park. Its aggressive behavior has been documented since 2010. The animal has claimed 25 lives, including two soldiers guarding the park’s territory. After the initial attacks, a GPS collar was placed on the elephant, but the transmitter failed within a few weeks. In 2012, authorities enlisted the Nepalese army to capture and kill the elephant, but the operation proved unsuccessful.
In 2019, the animal had its tusks sawed off and was fitted with a new satellite collar that transmits its coordinates every hour. When Dhurbe approaches populated areas, joint patrols of rangers and soldiers are sent into the forest to drive him back into the park. Chitwan Park protection officer Abhinach Thapa Magar confirmed that on the night of the tragedy, data on the elephant’s location was recorded “precisely in that area.” The elephant continues to pose a deadly threat to local residents.
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