Elephant Caught Smoking In The Woods

Bizarre things can happen anywhere, even in forests. Some scientists have become baffled after a footage of an elephant “smoking” in the woods in India went viral.

The 48-second video shows an elephant puffing clouds of smoke into the air, which has left the scientists wondering how it happened.a

The video, which was captured by a scientist from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

The scientist observed how the creature ingests charcoal and blow ashes in a burnt forest during the summer.

Apparently, this unusual behavior is the first video documentation of a pachyderm smoking.

The scientist captured the video in April 2016 but it was only uploaded online recently.

Vinay Kumar, assistant Director of WCS India, said in a statement:

“This was not an unusual sighting, but what we saw her doing was something that I had never witnessed before, and it has probably not been commonly captured on film earlier either.”

“As cameras clicked, I switched on to the video mode and filmed what would be an amazing sight to behold, a behavior that has had experts trying to decipher the exact nature of the action.”

“What we saw that day almost appeared as though the elephant was smoking – she would draw up a trunk full of ash close to her mouth and blow it out in a puff of smoke.”

Another scientist, Dr. Varun R. Goswami, believes that the elephant was mo.st probably trying to ingest wood charcoal in the forest after a fire, which might have been caused by a bushfire or a lightning strike.

The elephant might have smoked charcoal to eliminate the toxins from its body.

Charcoal has been known for its toxin-binding properties. Wild animals are known to self-medicate and they know which substances can benefit their health. Aside from removing the toxins in the body, charcoal has been known as a potent laxative.

Watch the video below: