A German tourist died in India after he was attacked by a wild elephant in a forest reserve, police said Wednesday.
The 77 -year -old was traveling in a scooter hired in the Tiger Valley in Southern Tamil Nadu on Tuesday night when the agitated elephant attacked him on a mountainous forest road, throwing the tourist into the forest.
“He could not understand the warnings of other travelers who had stopped a safe distance after detecting the wild elephant and driving forward,” said Uma, a police officer who uses only one name.
“The elephant attacked him and died on the way to a local hospital,” the officer told AFP.
The police said they had tried to contact the family of the dead man “but nobody responded to our calls.”
Local media reported that the tourist continued to lead to the wild elephant despite the warnings of travelers waiting for the animal’s pass, and played loudly to move him away.
His decision to “ignore warnings and try to cross the road despite the presence of the elephant led to the fatal accident,” said Forest Officer G. Venkatesh, according to New Indian Express Newspaper.
India has an estimate of 30,000 wild Asian elephants.
In India, elephants attack the premises regularly, and vice versa, as humans invade forest areas.
