A wild elephant-killer with large tusks was furious when in a village in West Bengal he suddenly stopped and began to carefully disassemble the wreckage of a house he began to smash.
The father of 10-month-old Deepak Mahato, told the Times of India that he and his wife were having dinner around 8pm when they heard a “crackling” and loud rumble from the bedroom.
“We ran there and were shocked to see a wall shattered into pieces and an elephant standing over our child,” said Mr. Mahato.
“She was crying and huge pieces of the wall were lying around and on her crib. The elephant moved to the side, but when our baby started crying again, he came back and used his trunk to remove the debris."
The Times of India reported that the elephant that killed three people carefully removed every piece of stone, brick and mortar to expose the child before heading back into the forest.
The child's mother, Lalita Mahato said, “We worship Lord Ganesha (the god of elephants) in our village and I cannot believe that the elephant saved my daughter after breaking the door and smashing the wall. We were amazed at how … carefully he removed the garbage that fell on the child … it's a miracle."
The child was taken to hospital and had minor injuries from falling debris, but was "out of danger."
The conflict between humans and elephants in the Purulia region of West Bengal has emerged in the past few years. The land-use plan blocked the traditional migration routes of elephants and herds, so elephants regularly raided farms and villages and demolished houses, according to the Times of India.
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Forester Samir Bose said the same elephant killed three people and damaged 17 houses in three rural areas last year.
“The most amazing thing is that this elephant left the girl alive even after damaging the house,” said Mr. Bose.
“I think he also has a heart,” he added.
Mr Bose says the lone elephant rested in a nearby forest on Tuesday.