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Bandipur: A spine-chilling video has surfaced from the Bandipur forest area in the Karnataka-Kerala border where a wild elephant was seen chasing two passerby while they stepped out of the car to take a selfie. The incident reportedly left one injured who escaped death in giant Tusker’s attack. The video shows the elephant chasing two men on the highway passing through the Mulhol range in Muthanga (Kerala) or Bandipur. However, a driver attempts to save them by getting close to the Jumbo.
The incident, dated January 31, was videotaped by Savad, an IT engineer in Qatar and a resident of Kerala’s Kannothumala village. While travelling to Ooty with his family, Savad witnessed an wild jumbo charging at some commuters and recorded the entire incident. In the video, an elephant appeared on the highway where two men were allegedly attempting to take a selfie with it.
Unable to return to their car, they began running with the elephant in pursuit, while the car continued moving alongside. The chase persisted until one of the men fell to the ground. The elephant focus shifted to a passing vehicle which miraculously survived the two men from the attack and the elephant then retreated to the forest from the road.
Although both men survived the elephant encounter, one of them sustained visible injuries, seen crawling into the bushes to evade the elephant and, potentially, death.
A man escaped an elephant attack by a hair's breadth on the Bandipur-Wayanadu National Highway.#Bangalore #elephantattack #Bandipur pic.twitter.com/Z8hsfypytX
— Bengaluru_explorer (@theinnovat) February 1, 2024
The video has garnered significant traction on social media, with users slamming the men for disregarding guidelines for travelling through forest roads and disturbing the animals in their natural habitat. Comments ranged from cautionary wisdom like, “The reason why you shouldn’t mess with the largest land animal on planet earth,” to scolding sentiments such as, “When you don’t have common sense that you should not get down from the vehicles in the forest zone, the expectations will be more than this. Don’t blame the wild animals for this, blame the person who get out of the vehicle in the forest area and seize that vehicle,” with a witty quip declaring, “The elephant has more sense than him.”
In response to the incident, officials underscores the severe consequences of trespassing on forbidden forest land, with potential imprisonment of up to three years or a hefty fine of Rs 1. lakh, or both. The Karnataka Forest Department has initiated an inquiry into the matter, actively working to identify the two individuals involved.
