Man Harasses Wild Elephant in West Bengal: Viral Video Shows Tail Pulling and Stone Throwing Sparks Nationwide Outrage

In India, harassing wildlife is a serious offense punishable under the Wildlife Protection Act, yet incidents continue to occur.

A shocking video from West Bengal's Medinipur district has gone viral, showing a man recklessly pulling a wild elephant's tail and others throwing stones at a herd. The disturbing footage has triggered intense backlash across social media platforms as viewers condemn this blatant animal harassment.

The video depicts several men standing dangerously close to wild elephants that had wandered into a village bordering a forest area. One individual approaches an elephant from behind and pulls its tail, apparently for amusement or social media attention. As the startled elephant moves away, the man retreats while laughing. The footage also shows stones being thrown at the herd, visibly distressing these magnificent creatures.

The Instagram post accompanying the video posed a pointed question: "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 can be viewed on Instagram through a post shared by the account @streetdogsofbombay.

Social media users have demanded severe penalties for those involved to discourage such irresponsible behavior in the future. The incident has sparked significant discussion about proper wildlife interaction and respect.

One commenter noted: "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 user remarked: "Sorry to say people only consider animals thing of consumption and teasing so we can't expect compassion from them."

A third comment highlighted the elephant's restraint: "The elephant was far too gentle, civilised and kind to not trample over the human or throw him in the air."

According to local residents, elephant sightings have increased in the area recently due to diminishing forest coverage and human encroachment into natural habitats, resulting in more frequent and potentially dangerous human-elephant interactions.