Guwahati: An elephant stood guard for its caretaker of ten years who died in a rhino attack in Assam, northeastern India.
Forest officials and their guide elephants found the two on February 18 in the Jaldapara National Park. The elephant named Tarzan was standing beside his caretaker Shibram Nayek’s body and would not let anyone come close.
The forest team had gone looking for Nayek, 38, and Tarzan after they were reported missing a day earlier.
The foresters said Tarzan was so upset that he couldn’t save his master when he was being attacked by at least two rhinos, he did not eat when he was brought back to the shelter.
Nayek had gone to the forest with Tarzan yesterday so the animal could graze.
He said the foresters had surveyed the area and found out that Nayek had been killed by at least two rhinos.
A forest officer said the area where Tarzan was grazing had a lot of rhinos.
“Rhinos don’t like anybody intruding in their area. That is why the caretaker was attacked,” he said.
A forest official said Tarzan was so traumatized by its caretaker’s death that it didn’t eat anything and was standing in a corner of the training center for pet elephants, reports telegraphindia.com.