Random Facts About What It's Like To Be Killed By An Elephant (14 items)

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  (#3) You'll Probably Die To The Sound Of Shattering Bones

  Compared to the strength and rage of an elephant, your bones might as well be toothpicks. A single kick from one of these animals can shatter your ribs, one step downwards can completely obliterate any of your limbs. With only his trunk, an elephant can crush your skull in and one bad toss can snap your neck. In other words, you'll probably feel your bones breaking under the force of this wild attack. Tom Siebel remembers the sound well from his attack:

  "It stepped on my leg, kicked my leg, broke six ribs and ripped up my shoulder. I remember every instant of it, trying to protect my head with my arms. I remember the blows to my lower extremities, and it just hurt so bad I couldn’t believe it. Imagine what it’s like taking an elephant tusk through the thigh or hav[ing] a six-ton animal step on your leg It just snaps. The pain was intolerable. I had one thought: “Please, God, make this stop.”

  This can also be murder on your internal organs. Lungs can be punctured, stomachs can be ruptured, and your heart could even be crushed in your chest!
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  (#5) You May Be Thrown A Great Distance

  After they're done pummeling you with their big long nose, they may use it to toss you aside like a sack of potatoes. Before he was attacked, Tom Siebel had time to see his safari guide tossed around by an elephant, and the sight definitely left an impression:

  "I’d say the animal is four yards away and this guide then shoots and misses. It goes above its head. Then the elephant came up to him and [with her] trunk just threw him aside. I could hear the air decompress out of his body as the animal hurled him over maybe 10 yards to my right."

  Luckily, the guide was virtually unhurt by the attack, despite being thrown. It's unlikely you would be so lucky if an elephant decided they wanted to throw you.
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  (#8) He'll Charge You At Full Speed

  When an elephant has decided to run you down, they don't hold anything back. They'll lower their head, pin their ears to their body, and rush you with all of their force. And if you think elephants look pretty slow, you had best think again. Elephants can run at up to 40 miles per hour, faster than even the fastest humans. On top of that, some African Elephants weigh up to thirteen thousand pounds. That's a whole lot of force coming straight at you. When an elephant charges they don't care what's in their way, be it people, cars, other animals, or even trees. The fact is, once he really charges, you're pretty screwed. 
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  (#1) You Will Be Stabbed With His Tusks

  Being killed by an elephant usually involves lots of stomping. Something that's equally painful and terrifying? His tusks. Elephant tusks are made of a strong ivory quite capable of tearing right through human flesh and even shattering human bones. Elephants use these tusks to fight each other and to fend off predators and, in some cases, to attack people who invade their safety and their space. Because of that, one of the first things you might feel is the impact of these tusks.

  Billionaire Tom Siebel was once attacked by an elephant, and the tusks are definitely much of what he remembers:

  "It knocked me to the ground with its trunk, it rolled me, punched me, put a tusk through my left thigh, gored it, then ripped it out sideways."

  Although he survived the attack, Siebel was never quite the same after his injuries, and he has the scars to prove it.
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  (#2) He'll Beat You With His Trunk

  An elephant's trunk might seem like a big, soft, sensitive area, but it's a lot more than that. It's also an incredibly strong muscle. Separate from the rest of the body the nose alone weighs 400 pounds, and when that hits you, you know it. An elephant's trunk is stronger than any man you'd come up against. An elephant can lift up to 770 pounds with his trunk.
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  (#7) It May Happen For Seemingly No Reason

  Despite their enormous size, elephants tend to keep pretty peaceful. Their herbivores, they're fearful of predators, and they have an intricate social hierarchy. But sometimes these guys just snap. From the outside, it may seem like this happens for no reason at all, but to be honest humans are usually the cause.

  Each year, roughly 500 people are killed by elephants. This mostly happens when they are shot at, stressed, or harassed. When an elephant is in musth, they can be very aggressive to anyone who approaches. But to an onlooker, it can seem sometimes an elephant goes off the rails without warning in an instant. This is part of what makes elephant attacks so deadly, because when you can't see it coming, it's hard to get out of the way.

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