Posted on 07/15/2026 4:39:22 AM PDT by DFG
He has a long memory.
A notorious rogue Nepalese elephant has stalked resident Shanichara Bote for years, killing four of his family members 14 years apart — including two even after they all moved miles away to try to escape the homicidal pachyderm.
Bote’s nightmare began in December 2012, when Dhurbe — an infamous killer elephant whose human death toll is now up to 25 — fatally trampled the man’s parents in the Nepalese town of Madi near Chitwan National Park, the Kathmandu Post said.
The grief-stricken son packed up and moved himself and the rest of his family to safety, setting up his new homestead nine miles away, across the Rapti River and to Jagatpur, the outlet reported.
It wasn’t far enough.
Earlier this month, Dhurbe tracked down the family and burst into their home, killing Bote’s daughter-in-law, Ashika Bote, 25, and his 4-year-old grandson, Bharat Bote.
“We believed that moving across the major rivers would keep us safe,” Bote told the Kathmandu Post. “But after all these years, the exact same elephant found us again, raided our home and took my daughter-in-law and my little grandson.
“There is nowhere left for us to run.”
The elephant has a long history of fatal misdeeds — he has reportedly killed more than two dozen people since 2010, park officials told the outlet.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Like crows, elephants hold grudges and friendships. Across 14 years isn’t “rogue” but vengeance.
I’m sure Mr. Bote didn’t tell the reporters of any prior runins he had with the pachyderm.
Right, and there's the real story. I read that a group of elehants travel annually to the burial site of the man who ran a shelter and had rescued many of them as orphans. Amazing!
Gary Larson? Heckuva find.
On a more serious note, in what country does an animal or an immigrant get to kill without paying a price? Oh. Wait. Never mind.
I have read that the most widely used poaching cartridge in Africa is the 7.62x39, including elephant, rhino. It’s the most widely available and cheapest.
It is only 9 miles. Raccoons, dogs, and deer easily traverse greater distances.
The odds are pretty high that the same elephant would randomly encounter the same people since they never left its territory and they probably had a stash of stored grain or other food , and a garden both times that attracted it.
Now, if they had gone well out of its territory and it found them, there would be reason to believe he did it deliberately. But nine miles is nothing to an elephant. It finds that raiding settlements for food is worth its while. Eventually, it will raid any settlement in its range that it can easily reach.
Fortunately, the government has managed to put tracking collars on this elephant three different times, so they can always locate the victims’ bodies, which is nice. Goonga galoonga.
They got a tracking collar on it twice.
And couldn’t kill or poison or tranquilize it.
Yeah, elephants are treated brutally in that part of the world. I’m rooting for the “homicidal pachyderm.”
“Yeah, elephants are treated brutally in that part of the world.”
It is a wild elephant. From Wiki:
“Dhurbe is a wild male elephant in Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Between 2009 and 2026, he was reported to have killed 25 people and destroyed more than 50 houses. Named after a soldier he killed, Dhurbe is considered one of the most notorious wild elephants in the world.
After the initial attacks from 2009 to 2012, Dhurbe was radio-collared to track his movements, but the radio stopped working after a few weeks. When the elephant killed more people in 2012 officials declared him as a mad elephant and decided to hunt and kill him. 93 soldiers from the Nepal Army and Chitwan National Parks were mobilized to kill the elephant but they could not locate him. Later, the officials claimed that Dhurbe was injured but ran away and survived.
Dhurbe next appeared in 2018. He broke into the army post of Chitwan National Park at Tirthamankali and took a female elephant with him. At the same time, Dhurbe attacked and injured a male elephant named Paras Gaj....
Conservationists and wildlife experts have opposed the culling of individual “rogue” elephants such as Dhurbe, arguing that such actions violate ethical standards and international agreements protecting endangered species, including Nepal’s commitments under the CITES. In Nepal, the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is legally protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1973.” Etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhurbe
He attacks other elephants as well. Might be Amish?
Also, a historical note:
“Bell hunted with a .400 Jeffery Nitro Express double rifle and (considerably) smaller .275 Rigby/7×57mm Mauser. He found that, when an elephant was hit in the correct spot, it didn’t matter which rifle he used—both were equally effective. Conversely, a bad shot was still a bad shot even when made using the larger caliber, and the elephant wouldn’t go down.”
There are several reasons Dhurbe has remained alive despite being blamed for 25 human deaths:*************************
Asian elephants are endangered. Nepal has very strong wildlife protection laws and conservation policies. Killing one is considered an absolute last resort.
Authorities actually did order him killed. After Dhurbe killed several people in 2012, the government declared him a rogue (”mad”) elephant and launched a major operation involving 93 Nepal Army soldiers and park personnel. They reportedly shot and wounded him, but he escaped into dense jungle.
He’s extremely difficult to find. Chitwan National Park is hundreds of square miles of dense forest, grassland, and river systems. Even with radio and later satellite collars, locating one specific elephant at the right moment has proven difficult. The collars have also failed or been replaced over the years.
Recent strategy has shifted toward capture rather than killing. Following the latest fatal attacks in 2026, officials have been trying to dart and immobilize Dhurbe so he can be controlled instead of immediately shot. As of recent reports, they still had not located him.
What about religion?**************************
Religion may play an indirect role.
In Nepal, where most people are Hindu or Buddhist, elephants are widely respected. In Hinduism, the elephant-headed deity Ganesha is one of the most revered gods, and elephants are often viewed as sacred or deserving of compassion.
However, religion has not prevented the government from authorizing lethal action. The fact that Nepal officially ordered Dhurbe killed in 2012 shows that public safety can override those cultural and religious values.
Did they try buying it off with a bag of Peanuts? Even homicidal elephants like Peanuts. ;)
Wow. And I be done seen about everything.
But even a bad shot with a 40 mm brought him down every time.
Cows kill about 20-30 people a year in the USA.
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