An incident occurred in southwest India on Sunday when a man was trampled on by an elephant after attempting to take a selfie with the wild animal.
According to Yahoo, when he spotted an elephant chowing down on some carrots by the side of the road, the opportunity for a selfie with the ginormous animal proved too much to resist for Basavaraju—and too much to ignore for the animal.
Daniel Osorio, one of several witnesses to the terrifying incident, believes that the flash of Basavaraju’s camera while taking the photo may have been what prompted the elephant’s angry reaction. Video shows the elephant contentedly chowing down on some carrots on the side of the road, then suddenly raising its trunk and charging at Basavaraju and, when he eventually caught up, trampling him hard enough to strip him of all his clothing below his waist—underwear included.
Basavaraju sustained severe injuries and was rushed to the hospital—which didn’t prevent local authorities from taking action against the stomped-upon tourist for violating local wildlife restrictions. Basavaraju was fined 25,000 rupees (roughly the equivalent of $285) and was required to film a video confession in which he admitted ignorance to local wildlife safety regulations. The local Forest Department condemned Basavaraju’s choices in the situation, stating that: “Such reckless stunts not only endanger human lives but also provoke unpredictable and dangerous animal behavior.”
