The only real way to escape is not to. Stand STILL. Even though this giant beast of mass proportions may be running at a full pace of 25 mph, he will come to a complete halt if you don't move. I saw it on documentary, the people ran and left the camera tripod behind, the Elephant put the brakes on when the tripod didn't run away.

Although I wouldn't want to try it, I think a man could escape from an elephant by making sharp turns and cuts often. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if it was possible to stay behind the elephant, just running around it every time it tried to turn and face you.

I have personal experience of a walking safari in Africa. The guide assured us that running in right angles to the chasing elephant is effective escape maneuver. Never in any circumstances climb a tree.

I have an Indian teacher who really was chased by an elephant. She said it ran way faster than her, but she ran in a zig-zag to escape it, because they are very bad at turning. This is a first hand account

My argument: I am much more shifty than an elephant and would be able to escape if ONE was chasing me in a large field by cutting and weaving. This is one thing you will never see on my tombstone

If the man has a gun...

Man can kill any f------g thing on the whole damn planet, and we do it just for kicks. I mean, we don't need to kill cows and use their skin for clothing. We could wear other stuff. but we do it anyway, and that why we are AWESOME. Elephants are no different.

Well, because the question's a singular, I choose man, because we use man in the collective sense too, while the collective for Elephant is a herd of Elephants. Anyway, rifles go bang.

I say man only if he has an AK and a 200 foot head start. But don't elephants stick together? So I take that back, elephants win.

Elephants charge at up to 25mph. Way faster than you can run. If the elephant wanted blood, you're dead. Playing dead is only going to get you trampled, and climbing a tree seems fine until the elephant knocks the tree down. Elephant win.

More authoritative link on how fast elephants run:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant

Guys, I think it just comes down to penis size. Go elephants!

It is obvious that in a battle between Man vs. Elephant, Elephant is the favored combatant, and I will now detail why in a precise, analytical, and impressive manner.

The most important advantage of the elephant: the tusks. An elephant could easily impale two grown men on each tusk, or up to five children. Now, compare that to what human teeth could do to an elephant: Barely nothing.

The teeth of humans are merely jokes to elephants. No matter how sharp your teeth are, your chances of hurting or killing an elephant with them are very, very small indeed.

And an elephant is big. An elephant could step on you and kill you with no problem, and not even break a sweat. He could even step on you by accident and kill you, and not even know it until he has to scrape you off his foot before walking into his elephant house or whatever.

Elephants are not just big. Elephants are very big. Elephants are big even when down on all four legs. When an elephant is reared up on its hind legs, it's even bigger than before, which was already pretty big to begin with.

Now, you, as a human, are already reared up on your hind legs pretty much all the time, and even then you're still not nearly as big as an elephant that is down on all fours. So, comparing you, up on your hind legs, to an elephant up on it's hind legs, there's just no contest.

What are you gonna do, Mr. Human? Stand on your toes? If you do, the elephant is just going to put its trunk up into the air, dwarfing you even further and making you look like even more of a fool before your ultimate defeat.

Some elephants are also reported to shoot peanuts out of their trunks with such velocity as to resemble machine gun fire. If these reports are true, the odds for human survival vs an elephant onslaught become slimmer with each passing minute.

The most important evidence of the superiority of elephants vs. man is demonstrated clearly on this very debate. What do the humans here consider the most successful outcome vs. an elephant? Why, getting away, of course!

The best that man can hope for is to run away and escape with his life, while the elephant is almost guaranteed to win by killing the human. The lopsided difference between the two ultimate outcomes clearly indicate which force is superior.

Elephants also have excellent memories. When you've forgotten all about your fight with the elephant and your triumphant escape, say, ten or twenty years down the line, and you're somewhere walking along the mall parking lot, sipping your Orange Julius and thinking about the game you watched on 3D holocable last night... BAM! The elephant jumps you from behind.

When the evidence is assembled and the case presented, the result is clear: In the never ending battle between man and elephant, always bet on gray!

I definitely would try, but I wouldn't want to be near a charging elephant. Brutal!!

You sleep on the elephant's agility.