A temple festival in the southern Indian state of Kerala took an unexpected turn when an agitated elephant went on a rampage, destroying several parked vehicles in quick succession.
The decorated elephant named Devidasan was participating in a temple festival in Kerala's Palakkad district and broke free from his leash. Two caretakers riding on the elephant's back tried to calm it down, but to no avail. It quickly demolished a motorbike, an auto rickshaw and a small truck with its trunk. While no one was injured, it took several hours to pacify the elephant.
Several studies argue that Kerala's temple elephants are kept in poor conditions, often being chained or starved. In January, an elephant had gone on a similar destructive spree in Kerala, damaging shops and vehicles along its way.