The video was tweeted byIndian Forest Services officer Praveen Kaswan
In a fascinating animal-human encounter, an adult elephant and a calf were caught on camera blocking the way of a sugar cane-laden truck and then stepping aside once they were offered some.
The video was tweeted by Indian Forest Services (IFS) officer Praveen Kaswan with the humorous caption -- "What will you call this tax". In the short clip, two elephants, one of them a calf, are seen obstructing the way of a sugarcane-laden truck. A person standing atop the truck starts tossing bundles of sugar cane to the elephants.
As soon as the bundles land, the elephants move to the roadside and immediately start feasting on them.
The IFS officer, in a follow-up tweet, cautioned that offering food to wild animals isn't very beneficial. He stressed that animals get used to the treats and this prompt them to wander near human colonies outside their habitat.
The video has garnered more than 1.6 million views on Twitter and prompted users to express their opinion on the act.
Reiterating the IFS officer's appeal, a person has highlighted how monkeys have become habitual of eating food offered by tourists and that it often leads to untoward incidents.
This user was of the opinion that humans were passing through the elephants' territory, and thus the "tax" levied was justified.
While underlining the impact of urbanisation on the wildlife, another person proposed a solution and wrote that overhead roads and tunnels can help avoid animal-human conflict.
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