Photographer Trampled to Death After Getting Too Close to Herd of Elephants
A photographer was tragically trampled to death in India’s West Bengal state earlier this month, after getting too close to a herd of wild elephants in order to take their picture.
The Daily Mail and Hindustan Times report that Asish Shit, a 35-year-old photographer from a town near Calcutta, was crushed to death by a wild elephant after walking too close to a heard he was photographing in West Bengal’s Jhargram district. The incident took place in the Atadihi area of Sankrail, and according to Arup Mukherjee, the divisional forest officer, “[Shit] went very close to the elephant that trampled him.”
The enraged elephant crushed the photographer, who was rushed to Bhangagarh hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.
The news presents a sobering reminder for amateur wildlife photographers and tourists alike, especially those who want to photograph the wild elephants in West Bengal. Shit’s death is the 8th deadly elephant attack in the region since October 26th, including the death of a handler by one of the forest department’s own elephants.
(via Fstoppers)
Image credits: Photo by Yathin S Krishnappa, CC BY-SA 3.0
