An Indian man was trampled to death by a wild elephant while he attempted to take a selfie with the animal in the western state of Maharashtra.
Shashikant Ramchandra Satre, a 23-year-old electrician by profession, was laying cables nearby on Thursday, Oct. 24, when he learned about a wild tusker roaming in the Gadchiroli forest.
Elephant was Extremely 'Aggressive,' Has Previously Killed at Least Seven Others
Satre, along with two of his friends reportedly decided to venture inside the forest to get a glimpse of the elephant. Upon spotting the animal, he tried to click a selfie from a distance, according to local news outlet NDTV.
However, the elephant, named CME3 by forest officials, turned aggressive and trampled Satre under its feet. The other two men managed to save their lives and escape from the area.
Forest officials have described the tusker as huge and aggressive, who entered the Gadchiroli forest in Maharashtra from neighbouring Chhattisgarh state. The elephant had killed at least seven others between November 2023 to May 2024 in Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Maharashtra states, the Times of India reported.
"We have already informed nearby villages to take precautions and posted forest staff in each village," said Vivek Khandekar, Maharashtra's principal chief conservator of forests.
"Our field staff, along with the Rapid Rescue Team, are already active in the area and informing the locals about the presence of wild elephants and does and don'ts while dealing with them," he told the Indian daily.
Selfie-Linked Deaths in India
India reportedly has recorded the highest number of selfie deaths followed by the US and Russia. In February this year, an Indian man climbed into a lion's cage in a bid to click a selfie with the wild cat but was mauled to death, as previously reported.
In 2021, another man was trampled to death by an elephant while he tried to take a selfie with it the animal in Chhattisgarh.
