I will continue to maintain that 40+ boys and young men wandering around on the roads with no clear purpose were likely to be understood as bandits or similarly dangerous, and casting Summon Animal VII was reasonable given the circumstances.

Like, 40+ teenagers surrounding an old man and harassing him is a potentially very dangerous situation for a vulnerable elder. It’s usually portrayed as ridiculously out of proportion to summon bears on them but I think Elisha was in real danger.