Elephant tramples tourist ‘who took its photo with flash on’

A tourist had to run for his life before being trampled by an elephant after apparently venturing too close for a selfie. 

The man reportedly trespassed in a restricted forest near the Bankapur temple in Karnataka, southwest India. 

He allegedly tried to take a selfie with the creature but had to flee when it turned on him after being startled by the flash.

Footage taken by visitors driving through the reserve on Sunday shows the elephant shrieking as it thunders across the road to chase the tourist, identified by authorities as R. Basavaraju. 

As the animal bore down on him he tripped and fell, with his trousers sliding down his waist, before the elephant walked over him.  

The creature then returned to the wilderness, leaving him splayed out on the road having fortuitously escaped being crushed under its weight.

Witness Daniel Osorio said the elephant was eating carrots at the side of the road when the tourist approached it to take a selfie. 

The animal attacked him after being provoked by the sudden bright flash, according to the passer-by. 

Forest officials said they tracked down Basavaraju at his home in Nanjangud town, also in the state of Karnataka. 

He was fined 25,000 Rupees (£212) and made to record a video confession, admitting his actions stemmed from ignorance of wildlife safety rules. 

Basavaraju also warned other tourists not to make the same mistake. 

The Forest Department said: ‘Such reckless stunts not only endanger human lives but also provoke unpredictable and dangerous animal behaviour.’ 

The Indian sub-continent has at least 30,000 wild elephants – more than any other country and approximately 60 per cent of the world’s entire Asian elephant population. 

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