Overview

• On August 10 in Bandipur Tiger Reserve, a Kerala tourist allegedly used a camera flash to photograph a wild elephant, prompting a viral video of the animal charging and briefly trampling him.
• Bandipur Tiger Reserve director Prabhakaran said the tourist’s identity remains unconfirmed, with hospitals in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar alerted for injury reports and potential prosecution for violating park rules.
• At the Lachhiwala toll plaza on the Dehradun–Haridwar highway, video by Instagram user Vinay Sharma shows an elephant smashing a car’s windshield with its trunk, though occupants escaped unharmed.
• Forest Department officials have reiterated that visitors must stay inside vehicles, warning that provocative actions can incur fines under protected-area regulations.
• Conservationists and retired forest officers have criticized these incidents as avoidable, noting that rising tourist pressure and fragmented wildlife corridors are fueling more frequent human–elephant conflicts.