Execution by elephant

Execution by elephant, or Gunga Rao, was a method of <a href="/facts/Capital_punishment/4pbmeUIb">capital punishment</a> in <a href="/facts/South_Asia/7gTqe3hY">South</a> and <a href="/facts/Southeast_Asia/VafwT517">Southeast Asia</a>, particularly in <a href="/facts/Indian_subcontinent/0XUWGXpx">India</a>, where <a href="/facts/Asian_elephant/KE152Fa8">Asian elephants</a> were used to <a href="/facts/Crushing_(execution)/ENhgsLzh">crush</a>, <a href="/facts/Dismember/llBqh31A">dismember</a>, or <a href="/facts/Torture/oTCUxY3x">torture</a> captives during <a href="/facts/Public_execution/txkx36sx">public executions</a>. The animals were trained to kill victims immediately or to torture them slowly over a prolonged period. Most commonly employed by royalty, the elephants were used to signify both the ruler's power of life and death over his subjects and his ability to control wild animals.
The sight of elephants executing captives was recorded in contemporary journals and accounts of life in Asia by European travellers. The practice was eventually suppressed by the European colonial powers that colonised the region in the 18th and 19th centuries. While primarily confined to Asia, the practice was occasionally used by <a href="/facts/Europe/DTAtrKfh">European</a> and <a href="/facts/Africa/XkqQUP9s">African</a> powers, such as <a href="/facts/Ancient_Rome/cGqIuxPd">ancient Rome</a> and <a href="/facts/Ancient_Carthage/5BFU7yB5">ancient Carthage</a>, particularly to deal with mutinous soldiers.

Execution by elephant open-in-new

Execution by elephant