Selfie-taking tourist gets trampled and stripped after startling wild elephant
Shocking footage has emerged of the moment a selfie-taking tourist gets charged at and stomped on by a wild elephant. Watch the video.
A brazen tourist was recorded being charged at and stomped on by a wild elephant after attempting to grab a quick selfie.
The multi-tonne animal was filmed trampling the man, leaving his pants ripped and his backside completely on show.
Horrified onlookers watched as the bold tourist lay face first in the road with severe injuries.
Witnesses claimed that the camera flash startled the elephant, which was roaming around Bandipur National Park, India.
The brutal two-minute clip shows a man in a white T-shirt, identified as R. Basavaraju, lingering around the wild elephant.
It was reported that he had entered the restricted area of the national park in an attempt to snap the selfie.
Witnesses claim the elephant was calmly eating carrots from a produce truck, causing a half-hour traffic jam on the road.
Deciding to seize the opportunity, Basavaraju reportedly held up his phone to grab a picture before the camera flash went off, alarming the creature.
He was then seen sprinting away and before tripping over on the road as the animal marched behind him.
The agitated elephant can be seen stomping on the tourist, using its feet and trunk to attack, while Basavaraju lies face down on the road.
Elephants can weigh from 2.7 to 6.3 tonnes and a blow from an elephant can be lethal.
The power from the attack was so forceful that the tourist’s trousers were ripped off during the aggressive episode.
After striking the motionless man multiple times, tearing his pants off, Basavaraju was left on the road with his backside out.
Tourists visiting the reserve, which is near a temple in Karnataka, said he lay for a few minutes before being able to stand.
Basavaraju miraculously survived the attack but was rushed to hospital immediately with serious injuries.
He was also fined a hefty amount for agitating with animals and sneaking into the restricted area of the park.
Local forest authorities ordered for him to pay a $435 fine for his inappropriate behaviour.
He was also told to film himself apologising for breaching the rules.
The footage went viral and Basavaraju has been widely criticised for his reckless behaviour.
A spokesman from the Forest Department said: “Such reckless stunts not only endanger human lives but also provoke unpredictable and dangerous animal behaviour.”
Elephants are generally regarded as gentle creatures that do not attack if unprovoked.
However if startled, threatened, or with their young, they have been known to charge.
Last month a New Zealand and British tourist were both killed in Zambia after being trampled by an elephant while on Safari.
The animal was nursing a calf at the South Luangwa National Park at the time.
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Originally published as Selfie-taking tourist gets trampled and stripped after startling wild elephant
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