On the death of seven elephants :(

Elephants were my favorite animals--now they are second only to dogs.  Anytime there was an elephant on the street, I would rush to watch the pachyderm. There was something special about the way this powerful creature slowly walked as if it owned the world.

In Tanzania, while my group mates were rapidly clicking away at the huge African elephants that were only a few feet away, I sat there in the vehicle almost mesmerized by their presence.

Which is why I am just saddened by this news in The Hindu:

Seven elephants, including three calves, were killed when an Assam-bound goods train from Siliguri rammed the herd near the Moraghat railway crossing at Binnaguri in West Bengal on Wednesday night. Five died instantly while two others succumbed to their injuries on Thursday morning. Among the seven dead elephants, three were babies and three females. The accident occurred at the crossing of Moraghat Tea Estate under Banarhat in the Binaguri police station. 

 How terrible.  As humans expand their activities into the areas where the elephants and other animals roam, more often than not the animals lose big time, as in this case.
I wish life was not like this, but fun times with the baby elephant, as Mancini created so well with this tune ...