The incident occurred in 1894, yet still gives people the goosebumps

Nov 14, 2012 08:38 GMT  ·  By

Nowadays, most people look at elephants as the main targets and victims of poachers, yet this does not change the fact that, should they choose to fight back, they could really give their hunters a run for their money.

Apparently, it was back in 1894 when an elephant decided to take down a train in order to protect its herd.

According to some people, the animal was also seeking vengeance for a calf that was killed by this train not very long before this heroic elephant saw fit to derail it, Tree Hugger reads.

An old picture showing a sign put up in order to mark this elephant's grave stands as proof of the fact that the story is very much true.

“There is buried here a wild elephant who in defense of his herd charged and derailed a train on the 17th day of September, 1894,” the sign reads.

The elephant's plan to derail the train was quite simple, efficient and it ended up costing it its life: the animal simply assumed its position on the railway and held its ground, in spite of the train's racing towards it.

As was to be expected, the train smashed into it and killed it, derailing as a result of the force of the impact.

From where we stand, the incident might have occurred quite a while ago, yet this does not change the fact that the story will probably never get old.