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{{Short description|Rogue bull elephant in India}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox animal
| name = Osama bin Laden
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| othername =
| species = [[Asian elephant]]
| gender = Male
| birth_date = 1956–1961<ref name=nbcserial/>
| death_date = December 2006
| death_place = Behali, near [[Tezpur]], [[Assam]], India
| occupation =
| years_active = 2004–2006
| weight =
| height = {{convert|9|to|11|ft|m|order=flip}}
| appearance = No [[tusk]]s
| namedafter = [[Osama bin Laden]]
}}

'''Osama bin Laden''' was a [[Elephant#Attacks|rogue]] bull [[Asian elephant|elephant]] named after the radical Islamic extremist [[Osama bin Laden]]. He was responsible for at least 27 deaths and the destruction of property in the jungled [[Sonitpur district]] of the [[States and territories of India|Indian state]] of [[Assam]]. After a two-year series of attacks from 2004 to 2006, the elephant was eventually shot, though some were doubtful that the correct animal had been killed. Two other now-deceased killer elephants active following 2006 were also given the name "Osama bin Laden" or "Laden".<ref name="foxnews"/>

==Attacks==
Osama bin Laden was a [[Elephant#Attacks|rogue]] bull [[Asian elephant|elephant]] active in the Indian [[States and territories of India|state]] of [[Assam]], in the vicinity of [[Behali]], near [[Tezpur]]. The state capital, [[Guwahati]], is {{convert|150|mi|km|order=flip}} southwest of Behali.<ref name="Conroy">{{cite news |first1=Scott |last1=Conroy |publisher=Associated Press/[[CBS News]] |date=17 December 2006 |title=Elephant Named After Bin Laden Shot Dead |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/elephant-named-after-bin-laden-shot-dead/ |accessdate=2 January 2015 |archive-date=2 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102163540/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/elephant-named-after-bin-laden-shot-dead/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The province has an estimated population of 5,300 Asiatic elephants.<ref name="Conroy"/>

Named after the militant leader [[Osama bin Laden]],<ref name=bbckiller/><ref name="WAFF">{{cite web |title=Authorities in India hunting killer elephant named after Osama bin Laden |date=16 December 2006 |url=http://www.waff.com/story/5820652/authorities-in-india-hunting-killer-elephant-named-after-osama-bin-laden |publisher=[[WAFF (TV)|WAFF]] |accessdate=3 January 2015 |archive-date=4 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104161507/http://www.waff.com/story/5820652/authorities-in-india-hunting-killer-elephant-named-after-osama-bin-laden |url-status=live }}</ref> at the time of the attacks, the elephant was thought to be between 45 and 50 years old.<ref name=nbcserial/> He measured between {{convert|9|and|11|ft|m|order=flip}} tall.<ref name=nbcserial/><ref name=ishe/> He was given the status of a "rogue" elephant in the summer of 2006 after his death toll reached double-digit figures.<ref name=bbckiller/> He was said to not fear fire or [[firecracker]]s.<ref name=ishe>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/osama-the-serial-killer-elephant-is-shot-dead--or-is-he-428923.html |title='Osama' the serial killer elephant is shot dead – or is he? |last=Bignell |first=Paul |date=18 December 2006 |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |accessdate=2 January 2015 |archive-date=2 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102163352/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/osama-the-serial-killer-elephant-is-shot-dead--or-is-he-428923.html |url-status=live }}</ref> During his attacks, he killed 27 people in the state of Assam,<ref name=nbcserial>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna16248233 |title=Serial killer elephant shot dead in India |date=17 December 2006 |publisher=[[NBC News]] |access-date=23 April 2013 |archive-date=27 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727061222/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/16248233/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/t/serial-killer-elephant-shot-dead-india |url-status=live }}</ref> including 14 during the six months preceding his death.{{efn-ua|"The animal was blamed for 14 deaths in the northeastern state of Assam.... The order came after the bull — dubbed 'Laden' — was blamed for the death of a woman Wednesday near the thickly wooded evergreen jungle where it lived. The elephant evaded two previous attempts by officials to kill it."<ref name="USAToday"/>}}<ref name=bbckiller>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6183961.stm |title=India's killer elephant shot dead |date=17 December 2006 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |accessdate=23 April 2013 |archive-date=3 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130103213448/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6183961.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="USAToday">{{cite news |title=Killer elephant named after Osama bin Laden slain |date=18 December 2006 |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |location=Guwahati, India |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2006-12-18-killer-elephant_x.htm |accessdate=2 January 2015 |archive-date=2 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102211401/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2006-12-18-killer-elephant_x.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Expansion of human activities and [[Habitat destruction|destruction]] of elephants' natural habitat has resulted in elephants foraging for food where humans are situated.{{efn-ua|In India, they are a [[protected species|protected]] and [[endangered species]]. The Indian subcontinent has almost half of the world's population of 60,000 Asian elephants. In 2002, a census in Assam counted approximately 5,000. However, conservationists suggest the pachyderm population has fallen rapidly because of loss of habitat, human encroachment into forests, and concomitant human-elephant conflicts.<ref name="reuters2"/>}} From 2001 to 2006 in Assam, more than 250 people were killed by elephants; villagers killed 268 elephants, mainly by poisoning.<ref name="Conroy"/>

==Death==

Indian officials issued a "shoot to kill" directive for Osama bin Laden in mid-December 2006,{{efn-ua|"'I am looking for my target with a .400 bore rifle assisted by five forestry officials, but Laden is known to do the vanishing trick every time a hunter is put on its trail,' said Dipen Ram Phookun, one of Assam's three licensed elephant hunters."<ref name="WAFF"/>}} with a deadline of the end of the month. On 18 December, it was announced that the elephant had been tracked to a [[History of tea in India|tea plantation]] near Behali, a town {{convert|90|mi|km|order=flip}} north-west of [[Guwahati]].<ref name=ishe/> Local villagers used drums and fire to trap the elephant in the corner of the plantation.<ref name=bbckiller/> He was approached by hunter Dipen Ram Phookun; however, once the elephant realised what was about to happen he charged the hunter, who killed him as he rapidly approached. Phookun said, "It was charging towards me and I kept firing. Another few yards and it would have run over me."<ref name=bbckiller/> It had been identified as Osama bin Laden as it had no tusks.<ref name=ishe/>

However officials were concerned that it was not the right elephant, with the death taking place a considerable distance – {{convert|50|mi|km|order=flip}} – from where he had been seen previously.{{efn-ua|Elephant expert Kushal Sharma claimed: "The elephant was found 80km away from the usual place where he moves around."<ref>{{cite news |title=Osama bin Laden shot dead |publisher=metrowebukmetro |date=17 December 2006 |url=http://metro.co.uk/2006/12/17/osama-bin-laden-shot-dead-470377/ |accessdate=4 January 2015 |archive-date=4 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104200004/http://metro.co.uk/2006/12/17/osama-bin-laden-shot-dead-470377/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}} Forestry officials were accused of killing an innocent elephant, while conservation groups were concerned about the possibility of revenge attacks by other elephants of the same herd.<ref name=ishe/>{{efn-ua|Activists said the elephant was quickly buried by forest officials "without verifying the foot prints, dimensions and other identifying marks that were the same as 'Osama's. 'They have killed an innocent elephant. It is an eye wash and shame on the part of the forest officials in Assam,'" according to wildlife conservationist Soumyadeep Dutta.<ref name="reuters2">{{cite news |title="Osama Bin Laden" shot dead in India |url=http://news.asiantown.net/r/1958/-osama-bin-laden--shot-dead-in-india |date=17 December 2006 |newspaper=today.reuters.comft |location=Guwahati, India |publisher=Reuters |accessdate=3 January 2015 |archive-date=3 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103181206/http://news.asiantown.net/r/1958/-osama-bin-laden--shot-dead-in-india |url-status=dead }}</ref>}}

==Other elephants==
[[File:A herd of wild elephants in a Tea Garden.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|A herd of wild elephants in an elephant-friendly tea garden in India]]
After the [[September 11 attacks]] in the United States, villagers in Assam started calling elephants which damaged their crops or homes Osama bin Laden, viewing them as terrorists.{{efn-ua|"Post 9/11, villagers across Assam have started naming any elephant they suspect of bringing down their homes or feasting on crops as Laden, viewing such [[Pachydermata|pachyderms]] as terrorists," according to Kushal Konwar Sharma, an elephant expert and teacher at the College of Veterinary Science in Gauhati.<ref name="WAFF"/>}} In 2008, another elephant also named "Osama bin Laden" – that caused more than 11 fatalities and dozens of injuries – was shot dead in [[Jharkhand]].{{efn-ua|"The wild male elephant had been terrorizing villagers in two states, destroying their crops and homes."<ref name="Calgary">{{cite news |title=Indian police track down and kill 'Osama bin Laden' {{mdash}} the elephant |newspaper=[[The Calgary Herald]] |date=1 June 2008 |url=http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=260adced-0e25-4425-ae7e-5bcfcb4d56a1 |publisher=CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc. |access-date=2 January 2015 |archive-date=2 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150302184946/http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=260adced-0e25-4425-ae7e-5bcfcb4d56a1 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}{{efn-ua|"Yes, Osama has finally been killed and it took us 20 bullets to silence him", Ranjan told Reuters.<ref name="Calgary"/><ref name="reuters"/>}}<ref name="reuters">{{cite news |title=Killer elephant "Osama" shot dead in Jharkhand |location=Patna, India |date=31 May 2008 |publisher=[[Reuters]] |url=http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-33839920080531 |access-date=2 January 2015 |archive-date=2 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102183626/http://in.reuters.com/article/2008/05/31/idINIndia-33839920080531 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Another, known as "Laden", killed 5 people before being caught and dying in captivity in 2019.<ref name="foxnews">[https://www.foxnews.com/world/usama-bin-laden-elephant-india-captivity-dies Elephant, named Usama bin Laden, dies in captivity after killing 5 villagers in India, officials say], foxnews.com. Accessed 31 December 2023.</ref>

In early January 2026, for just over a week, a single-tusked bull elephant in the [[West Singhbhum]] district of Jharkhand killed at least 22 people. The elephant tracked across the [[Chaibasa]] and [[Kolhan division|Kolhan]] forest divisions before evading capture and entering neighboring [[Odisha]], initiating a multi-state search operation for the animal.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jharkhand: Wild elephant kills 20 in India state |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn0ygqjvq1ko|publisher=[[BBC]] |website=www.bbc.com |access-date=15 January 2026 |date=12 January 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.the-sun.com/news/15798930/elephant-kills-22-people-villagers-sleep-roofs/ |title=KILLING SPREE Rampaging elephant kills 22 people in 9 days as terrified villagers forced to sleep on roofs with beast still on the run |newspaper=[[The Sun (United Kingdom)#The U.S. Sun|The U.S. Sun]] |quote=A forest officer said the elephant attacked so brutally it resulted in nearly two dozen casualties |first1=Jeylin |last1=Mehmet |date=18 January 2026}}</ref> As of January 18, the rogue single tusker is still at large, despite hundreds of specialists attempting to hunt it down.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/rogue-jumbo-outpacing-us-not-afraid-of-crackers-and-torches/articleshow/126624458 |title=“Rogue jumbo outpacing us: Not afraid of crackers and torches: On the trail of a killer elephant that shows no fear” |date=January 18, 2026 |newspaper=[[The Times of India]] |accessdate=January 18, 2026|first1=Jitendra Prasad |last1=Singh}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|India}}
* [[Human-elephant conflict]]
* [[List of individual elephants]]
* [[Osama bin Laden in popular culture]]
* [[Musth]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=upper-alpha}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{Cite web |title=5 Terrifying Serial Killers Who Happened to Be Animals |first1=Robert |last1=Evans |first2=Jacopo |last2=della Quercia |date=27 March 2012 |url=http://www.cracked.com/article_19737_5-terrifying-serial-killers-who-happened-to-be-animals.html |accessdate=3 January 2015}}
*[http://content.usatoday.com/_common/_scripts/big_picture.aspx?width=490&height=368&storyURL=/news/offbeat/2006-12-18-killer-elephant_x.htm&imageURL=http://images.usatoday.com/news/_photos/2006/12/18/elephant-large.jpg Photo of elephant Osama Bin Laden (slain)] [[USA Today]]

[[Category:2006 animal deaths]]
[[Category:Animal attacks in India]]
[[Category:Animal rights]]
[[Category:Cruelty to animals]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in India]]
[[Category:Elephant attacks]]
[[Category:Individual Asian elephants]]
[[Category:Individual elephants in India]]
[[Category:Individual wild animals]]
[[Category:Sonitpur district]]

Osama bin Laden (elephant) - Revision history

Saurabhoaoindia: Put Up A Entry - done