The power of even just an Asian elephant is incredible and the though of being flung about or trampled by one isn't a particularly pleasant one. Nasty way to go. Right up there with a shark attack, or by a large, land-based, apex predator. On my drives north to Nong Khai and Bueng Kan, I travel via the Nam Nao National Park. There are several signs along this 90-odd km road warning of elephants crossing. Although I have yet to see one, the closest I have is driving past a still-steaming pile of dung on the roadside. I have - as, no doubt, you would have as well - read on more than one occasion of a car full of people ploughing into an elephant at some considerable speed, killing the occupants of said car while the beast walks away with a bruised leg or whatever. So one drives attentively, minimising the risk. Surely, one would think a person working amongst or even just nearby elephants - as a farmer/labourer in the area - would know not to get too close, yes? I liken it to sticking one's hand blindly into a hole and hoping one gets a turtle and not a viper.
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