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Drunken elephants rampage village
Wild elephants break into huts to get rice beer
Oct 21, 1999 - The Associated Press reports that drunken wild elephants tore about a village in India, trampling four people to death and injuring six.
Elephant expert Kushal Konwar Sharma said the herd of 15 elephants descended on the village of Prajapatibosti, 180 miles east of Gauhati, state capital of northeastern Assam. They broke into a cluster of thatched huts and guzzled rice beer fermenting in casks. "After drinking the beer the elephant herd became intoxicated and went on a rampage, trampling to death four members of a family," Sharma said. At least 100 people have been killed in elephant attacks during the past year in Assam, where 5,000 wild elephants are estimated to be living. Human encroachment and a shrinking forest habitat have been the main causes of the problem, Sharma said.
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