VIRAL: Journalist trampled to death by elephant

In a viral human-animal conflict, a TV cameraperson was trampled to death as he was capturing a video of wild elephants.

The deceased AV Mukesh was a columnist and cameraperson for an Indian TV channel and was shooting a video of a herd of elephants crossing a river in a forest of Kerala, an Indian media outlet reported.

Reports said that a wild elephant attacked the journalist leaving him seriously injured after he tripped and fell catching the attention of the agitated wild animal.

Mukesh was moved to the hospital for treatment where he received treatment, however, he died of his injuries.

While expressing shock over the death of Mukesh, a forests’ official praised the video journalist for “bringing public attention to the sorrows and sufferings of those neglected by society”.

“We are all deeply saddened by the news of the tragic incident. The forest department staff on hearing about the incident did their best to save him,” he added.

Amid an increase in such incidents, the Indian government officials said that the rising incidents were due to climate change and ecological imbalance.

It is pertinent to mention that humans are often attacked by the wild animals in India’s Kerala which comprises 1.2 per cent of India’s land area.

However, with its dense forest cover, it contributes to 2.3 per cent of the country’s forest cover, making it home several animal species.

In March this year, a video went viral on social media showing several people injured as elephants attacked each other during a public festival.

According to Mathrubhumi, the incident happened around 10.30 pm when the elephant, Guruvayur Ravikrishnan, parading for the ‘Ammathiruvady’, lost control, causing panic among people attending the festival.

The mahout narrowly escaped after the elephant made three attempts to attack him. However, he sustained minor injuries and was rushed to a hospital at Koorkenchery.