Elephant Charges at Ambulance Carrying Injured Worker in Kerala's Wildlife Corridor

An ambulance carrying an injured migrant worker in Kerala's Idukki district experienced a frightening encounter when a lone elephant charged at the vehicle.

The ambulance was blocked on the Marayoor-Udumalpet interstate route for approximately ten minutes until the tusker eventually retreated back into the forest.

The incident occurred while a migrant worker with a severe leg injury from a construction site was being transported to hospital. Suddenly, the elephant emerged from the forest and charged directly at the ambulance, running nearly 20 metres toward the vehicle. This dangerous encounter happened near the 'S' curve in proximity to the Chinnar forest checkpost.

Thinking quickly, the ambulance driver, Selva, simultaneously activated both the siren and horn. The loud noise caused the elephant to halt in the middle of the road, effectively blocking their path.

The driver continued sounding the horn and siren intermittently, which gradually forced the animal to back away and return to the forest.

Only after the elephant had completely disappeared into the woods was the ambulance able to continue its journey to the hospital.

This incident, which was captured on camera, highlights the ongoing human-animal conflict in this hill district of Kerala.

#Watch | Elephant charges at ambulance carrying injured worker in Kerala

In October, local government officials in Palakkad district requested the forest department to relocate a wild elephant, locally known as Kabali, back into the forests following multiple incidents of road blockages and vehicle attacks by this lone tusker along an interstate highway.

In one particularly severe incident, traffic on the Athirappilly-Malakkappara interstate highway was completely halted for almost 18 hours after the elephant wandered onto the road.

Video footage showed the tusker standing on the road, leisurely eating from a tree before trampling its trunk. Tourists, including many interstate travelers, were forced to wait while forest officials narrowly escaped an attack during their attempts to guide the elephant back to the forest.

'Kabali' has earned a reputation for its 'notorious' behavior. Last year, it blocked an ambulance and injured a motorcyclist. In 2022, it attacked a jeep.