THE humble elephant doesn't have the most fearsome reputation - but when they attack, the beasts can leave a gruesome trail of destruction.

       Just three weeks ago, a 68-year-old man was viciously impaled by the tusk of a charging elephant, and a savage 10ft creature named Osama bin Laden once terrorised Indian villagers and mauled 27 people to death.

       10

       Wild elephants went on a three-hour rampage across the city of Mysore, India Credit: AP

       Scores of people have been brutally crushed to death by raging elephants, and others have been left with horrifying injuries after the colossal creatures pounced.

       At least 100 people in India alone are killed every year by elephants, though the number can be as high as 300, according to the WWF.

       Here we take a look at some of the most monstrous attacks.

       SERIAL KILLER ELEPHANT 10

       An elephant named after al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was shot dead after killing Indian villagers Credit: AFP

       In 2006, an elephant aptly named Osama bin Laden slaughtered 27 people in northeast India before he was finally shot dead.

       The 10ft beast terrorised villagers for two years, destroying hundreds of homes and crushing dozens of people to death - prompting locals to name him after the al-Qaeda leader.

       Most read in News

       BUNK OFF Doctor, 33, struck off after going AWOL from busy A&E for a NAP as patients waited

       FREAK ACCIDENT Man, 24, fell to death at Derby County stadium in front of horrified fiancée

       NOT PARKING DOWN Mum, 35, locked in FIVE-YEAR parking row as she refuses to pay ￡285 fine

       DEC gang RAID Dec thieves 'targeted his family's home as they slept' in ￡750k car raid plot

       HAZ HIS SAY Harry slams anti-vaxxers 'who peddle fear' at awards as Piers sits in crowd

       BAR TOO HIGH Fury as pub bans hoodies, bum bags, Stone Island, 'chavs' and 'roadmen'

       He was eventually shot dead in a tea plantation after Osama evaded the authorities for months by sneaking around and hiding in forests and tea estates in the northern parts of Assam.

       Osama wasn't even afraid of fire or firecrackers, making it very difficult to carry out the the urgent shoot-to-kill order from forestry officials, an MP said at the time.

       He was accused of savagely killing 14 villagers in just one month.

       And in 2019, another bullish elephant was similarly dubbed Laden after trampling five people to death in the Bolatar village in Assam.

       Rajen Rabnha, a local villager, told AFP: "But that was not all. In the past Laden has also attacked our villages and killed people and destroyed our paddy fields."

       FESTIVAL CHAOS 10

       The elephant tossed the man around and crushed him to death at a temple festival in India

       In 2018, horrifying footage showed an elephant killing his trainer before goring several worshippers at an Indian festival.

       The chilling clip emerged from Kerala, where an elephant ran amok, attacking its trainer and causing mayhem at the religious event.

       The three-minute video begins calmly, showing elephants peacefully parading before crowds of hundreds of devotees.

       But as the clip continues, one of the elephants appears to lose his cool and throws the four people riding him - including the trainer - to the ground.

       As horrified onlookers begin to flee the grounds, the male bull starts hurling them about with his trunk and tusks like rag dolls.

       The elephant then tramples the helpless trainer, killing him.

       PHOTO OP GONE WRONG 10

       A German tourist was trampled by a female elephant at Victoria Falls Credit: Zimbabwe news live

       In another gruesome case, a German tourist was attacked by a bull elephant while taking snaps of a herd of the animals at Victoria Falls in Zambia.

       The man was walking along a footpath from a local hotel towards the falls when the elephant lifted the man and slammed him on the ground before trampling him.

       The tourist was rushed to hospital with a broken leg and arm - but survived the brutal attack.

       The animal was chased away by locals who catapulted stones at the female and her calf.

       DISEMBOWELED 10

       Elephants often launch horrific attacks on villagers after straying from forests

       In a truly barbaric attack last year, a man was disemboweled and trampled to death by an elephant in Makueni, Kenya.

       Charles Mutisya, 73, was brutally killed while tending to his farm at 7am one morning in December.

       The elderly man was found with his "intestines hanging outside the stomach".

       "Police from Mtito Andei police station and Kenya Wildlife Services rangers visited the scene of the incident and found the body having visible injuries with intestines hanging outside the stomach," Makueni County Police Commander Joseph Ole Naipeyan told Kenya News Agency.

       THREE-HOUR RAMPAGE 10

       A 55-year-old security guard was trampled to death by an elephant in Mysore, India

       At least one man was killed in southern India when two wild elephants went on a three-hour rampage across the city of Mysore in the state of Karnataka.

       The raging elephants left a trail of carnage after wandering into the city from a nearby forest.

       A 55-year-old security guard was trampled to death after he came out of his house to see what was going on amid the widespread panic.

       Horrific footage showed the bloodied body of the man at the foot of one of the animals being repeatedly gored, butted and trampled in a doorway.

       The video also showed a furious elephant angrily butting a cow.

       An eyewitness said: "The two elephants entered our city and started stomping over everything that came in their way.

       "One of them even entered a market place and crushed a man to death within minutes."

       Hundreds of people die every year in India when wild elephants wander into the cities.

       CRUSHED TO DEATH 10

       A man was killed after a crowd of workers teased a herd passing through a tea plantation Credit: Tahir Ibn Manzoor

       A furious elephant crushed a man to death after a crowd of workers teased a herd passing through a tea plantation.

       The animals were calmly crossing a road in north east India in search of food when a swarm of workers started taunting and chasing the elephants in a bid to scare them off.

       Shocking video footage shows one of the elephants becoming enraged by the shouting and car horns before charging towards the screaming crowd.

       After darting towards the tea garden workers, the huge Indian elephant made a beeline for a man who had stumbled by the roadside while trying to escape.

       He was trampled to death before the elephant returned to the herd on the opposite side of the road in Letekujan, in the state of Assam.

       TEMPLE RAMPAGE 10

       A temple worker was stomped to death by a wild elephant in Thailand Credit: @phetkasemthailand charity foundation Facebook page

       A temple worker was stomped to death by a wild elephant while taking a stroll at a temple in Hua Hin, Thailand earlier this year.

       Prasit Kanchanasilanon, 58, was found lying face-down in a pool of blood in front of the monks’ living quarters, according to the Bangkok Post.

       He had suffered a fractured skull and a number of other horrific injuries.

       Prasit had lived at the temple for about 10 years.

       IMPALED BY A TUSK 10

       Hundreds of people die every year in India when wild elephants wander into the cities Credit: Getty

       In the Como-Kango region of Gabon, Emile Moussavou, 68, came across an elephant near his village of Cachilaire, local news outlet L'Union reported.

       But Moussavou was taken by surprise when the animal charged at him while his back was turned, planted a tusk on his left leg, and threw him several metres.

       Incredibly, Mousssavou managed to release himself from the tusk of the raged elephant and frantically ran away and hid from the animal.

       He crawled to his village where his neighbours rushed him to hospital.

       A local source told L'Union at least five men had been attacked in five months in a spate of horrifying assaults.

       In May, a hunter in his late fifties was ambushed and trampled to death by an elephant in the nearby Gabon province of Ogooue Lolounter.

       In June, a 16-year-old boy in the Democratic Republic of Congo was killed by a spooked elephant which ran towards a group of local residents when it felt threatened.

       CIRCUS ATTACK 10

       The elephant used huge trunk to lift a car off the ground in Karrebaeksmind, Denmark Credit: BARCROFT MEDIA

       In the Danish seaside town of Karrebaeksminde, a group of spooked circus elephants aggressively approached an elderly man on a mobile scooter and a woman with a stroller.

       But one of the colossal creatures turned away from the panicked humans and swooped on another victim - a car.

       Astonishing footage showed one of the elephants chasing a group of terrified people before using the strength of its huge trunk to lift a car off the ground and smash the windows of the vehicle.

       "The elephant clearly got irritated after being hit and started to push and lift the vehicle," tourist Oddmar Nygard told ABC News.

       "The car owner tried to reach the car, but the circus staff stopped him. The windows got crushed and there was a lot of damage to the front."

       Shocking moment man is crushed to death by an enraged elephant after crowd taunts herd of jumbos