by This is the astonishing moment three elephants wandered around the corridors of an Indian hospital. Footage which went viral on September 3 shows the animals inside Binnaguri army camp hospital in West Bengal. In the video, one of the elephants comes through a door backwards, squeezing their big body into the corridor. It stood in the corridor for a little while without moving, while amazed staff took pictures.
People at the Jalpaiguri army hospital were in for a mega sʜᴏᴄᴋ when they saw two ᴡɪʟᴅ elephants taking a stroll through in the corridors. Watching from a distance, one of the employees shouted ‘woah, woah!’ as the elephant squeezed into a doorway. He continued to shout ‘woah!’ as another two elephants appeared and followed the first into a doorway. Clearly there wasn’t much space for the massive animals and one, struggling with a narrow passageway, was forced to go through a set of doors backwards in the Indian hospital. Later, it was reported that the elephants also damaged the walls of some rooms along with some furniture.
Indian Forest Service officer Susanta Nanda shared photographs of the unusual intruders on Twitter, writing: ‘Elephants in the room… From Jalpaiguri Cantonment.’ The staff were left intrigued by the visit from the elephants. And Susanta’s Twitter post attracted a swathe of amused commenters. One person wrote: “Oh my goodness’ while another said ‘woah’ imagine someone coming out of a room.” And a third person joked: “Inspection by the special tusk force.”
Not everyone was as amused by the visit, with some using the post to comment on nature and habitats. One person said: “I think this happens when you occupy their habitat and make structures on that. It’s their land and want it back.” And another agreed, writing: “Finally, let them take custody of their own property and land which actually belongs to them and not humans. Good job done by Lᴏʀᴅ.” Another ‘loved the pics’ but added that elephants ‘always have 1st right’ as humans have encroached on their space.
There has been an increase in interaction between elephants and humans, due to a ʟᴏss in the animals’ natural habitat, which often leads to ɪɴᴊᴜʀʏ and ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ. Conservationists have said it is important that forested areas become protected and that migration corridors are restored. Elephants are usually gentle natured, but can become aggressive when they feel ʜᴀʀᴀssᴇᴅ, ᴠᴜʟɴᴇʀᴀʙʟᴇ or ᴛʜʀᴇᴀᴛᴇɴᴇᴅ.
