Baby Elephant Chews Off Handler's Finger Months After Losing Mother

After a clip showing a baby elephant tickling a TV reporter on duty went viral, another incident of a baby jumbo chewing off mahout’s finger has now come to light.

What Happened: A baby elephant in the Indian state of Kerala's Kottur Elephant Sanctuary and Rehabilitation Centre chewed off his handler's finger while being fed, reported Times Now.

The report noted that a man named Pushakaran Pillai was feeding and giving medicines to a calf identified as Aranya when it seriously injured his fingers. The baby elephant was recently brought to the rehabilitation center from the Kottur forests after the mother elephant was found dead a few months ago.

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According to the publication, as the handler gave the animal medicines, an excavator was started in the vicinity, and the loud noise of the machine scared the elephant before it bit Pillai’s finger.

Two fingers of the handler got trapped inside the baby animal’s mouth, and one got bitten off. He was then quickly rushed to the nearby hospital, where the medical team found the separated finger badly damaged to be sewn back. 

The incident raised eyebrows for the inefficient behavior of veterinarians and assistants – who are actually responsible for giving medicines to the jumbos — at the regional Elephant Sanctuary and Rehabilitation Centre.

This came days after an angry jumbo pushed the first mahout down and soon lifted him using the tusk in the same Indian state. The elephant was later brought under control and tied to a tree.

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