Not everyone is a fan of wildlife. Some people are enthusiastic about wildlife, and from time to time, they visit where those animals are kept, and they spend exciting times with them. However, some things can get out of hand when those animals are threatened, and they strike back at supposed enemies.
This is the story of a man in Northeast India that was stomped to death by an elephant. The primary reason why this happened was that a crowd that visited a forest reserve located at the Morongi tea estate provoked a herd of elephants.
The video that captured the entire incident was taken by an Indian Forest Service official named Parveen Kaswan. The caption that accompanied the video was, “A human lost his life. I wonder whom to blame.” When the video was posted online, it went viral across India, which amassed close to 200,000 views at the time.
It is important to mention that the sad incident took place in the state of Assam, which is notable for having the second-highest wild elephant population in the whole of India. According to forest authorities, the victim who was crushed by an elephant was known as Pachkal Mura.
From the content of the video that was uploaded, Pachkal was seen running away from the elephant before he fell to the ground. Apparently, the elephant broke away from the whole herd and chased the crowd for a distance before trampling the poor man.
After the incident, Pachkal Mura was rushed to the nearest hospital before he eventually gave in to his injuries. This sad incident occurred on the 25th of July, 2021, by 5 p.m; when a gathering of tea garden workers went to the forest reserve where elephants were about to cross the national highway.
As the herd of elephants was crossing the highway, a vehicle that was approaching began to honk. This buzzing sound frightened the elephants, and at that time, a man who was wearing a purple shirt jeered at the elephants holding a yellow cloth.
Sadly for Mura, his location and timing did not favor him as one of the elephants that were annoyed changed its course and decided to take revenge. When interviewed by Assam Tribune, a forest official informed the public that every formality for Pachkal’s burial had been concluded, which includes post mortem.
As at the time of making the report, the forest official mentioned that they would be sending a formal report to the higher authorities.
When this incident occurred and the news spread all over social media, several Twitter users blamed the crowd who they felt was responsible for spiting the elephants. One Twitter user said that the blame was on humans for disrupting the habitat of the elephants, also adding that their space had been invaded.
The second social media user who tweeted mentioned that they wondered why humans found it difficult to keep to themselves. Also, the third social media user gave a suggestion if it was possible to create Animal crossings on tunnels, bridges, and the likes.
With reference to official data, more than 500 people die every year because of their clashes with elephants. It is interesting to mention that Assam is responsible for housing a fifth of all the elephants in the country. More so, it is one of the states having the highest number of people deaths resulting from encounters with elephants.
On the 14th of July, the Assam government made a release informing the assembly that in the last ten years, 812 people have died due to conflicts between humans and elephants. In May 2021, the forest officials in India commenced an investigation in Assam into the strange deaths of 18 wild Asian elephants.
Graphic Video Shows Man Trampled To Death After Taunting #Elephants pic.twitter.com/XC97DhFFAp
— Fight Haven (@FightHaven) October 25, 2021