Wildlife Institute of India official Swastik Pritam had been taking photos of an elephant herd with three colleagues in a forest in Jharkhand when the incident occurred, local news outlet Outlook India reported.
One elephant in the herd of 11 spotted them taking photos and began to get agitated, Forest Range Officer Rahul Kumar told Outlook India.
As the elephant became more and more irritated, 25-year-old Pritam hid in a nearby bush while his colleagues fled the area completely.
The elephant then charged at Pritam and lifted him up with its trunk, Kumar said.
The animal then threw the man on the ground, causing severe neck and shoulder injuries.
While they are usually gentle giants, elephants can attack humans when they feel vulnerable, or if their territory is being threatened.
Pritam was taken to a nearby hospital where he is now in stable condition, Outlook India reported.
The man and his colleagues had been surveying the forest to determine whether a new railway could be constructed. They were looking out for wildlife that could pose a problem with the plans, the news outlet reported.
The survey team had gotten close to the herd without notifying forest authorities, Nazir Akthar, a Barhi sub-divisional police officer told Outlook India.
There are as few as 20,000 Indian elephants remaining in the wild.
Human and elephant conflict has been on the rise in India for years, which is mainly a result of habitat loss. As human development projects expand, habitats are becoming smaller, forcing humans and wildlife together.
Fragmented habitats can also cause “crop raiding” instances, when elephants stray onto farmlands in search of food and water, ruining growing crops as they do so.
In October, elephants in the state of Chhattisgarh trampled a man to death after villagers killed a one-year-old calf that belonged to the herd.
Climate change is also making life harder for elephants, creating more conflict. As the temperature increases, water sources are more likely to dry up, causing elephants to hunt out new resources.
Duncan McNair, a lawyer and the founder and CEO of charity Save The Asian Elephants, told Newsweek at the time: “Elephants are immensely intelligent. Their brains weigh 10 pounds or more and have complex surface folds and a highly developed hippocampus, which enables profound emotions of grief, compassion, humor, role-playing and anger. So, while they are a gentle and recessive species, if roused by threats or attacks, they can be deadly.”
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