Man Harasses Wild Elephant By Pulling Tail In West Bengal, Video Sparks Outrage

A disturbing video has surfaced from West Bengal's Medinipur district, showing a man harassing a wild elephant by pulling its tails and throwing stones at the herd. The clip, which quickly went viral on social media, has sparked widespread outrage over the mistreatment of the animals and raised questions about human-wildlife conflict in the region.

In the video, a group of men can be seen standing dangerously close to a herd of elephants that had ventured into a village near a forested area. One man, seemingly for fun or social media clout, approaches an elephant from behind and pulls its tail. As the startled animal tries to move away, the man is seen laughing and retreating. In another part of the footage, stones are thrown at the herd, clearly agitating the wild giants.

"A mob of humans is throwing stones and pulling an elephant's tail for FUN! Yes, the ELEPHANTS are two, and yes, the chaos is entirely caused by people. Tell me - who's really wild here? The majestic giants... or the humans acting like animals?", the video was captioned on Instagram. 

Watch the video here:

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Notably, harassing or provoking wild animals is a punishable offence under India's Wildlife Protection Act. Social media users have called for strict punishment for the individuals involved, so that it acts as a deterrent for such reckless behaviour. 

One user wrote, "It is so sad.. I think probably these ppl are not aware of elephant memories.. bad memories elephant hardly forgets & in future any time if that elephant comes in contact with the same human he/ she never spare."

Another commented, "Sorry to say people only consider animals thing of consumption and teasing so we can't expect compassion from them."

A third added, "The elephant was far too gentle, civilised and kind to not trample over the human or throw him in the air."

Locals say that elephant sightings in the region have increased recently due to shrinking forest cover and encroachment into natural habitats, leading to more frequent human-elephant encounters.