The forest department officers in the Indian state of Odisha stated that the man’s recklessness cost him his life, after trying to take a selfie with the animal, Prabhu Bhatara was just killed by the bear.
An Odisha taxi driver was mauled to death on Wednesday evening when he decided that idea of selfie with an injured sloth bear is a brilliant idea. The forest ranger Dhanurjaya Mohapatra confirmed that unlucky man died on the spot. According to The Hindustan Times, this was the third selfie-related animal death in Odisha in the past year.
the late Mr Bhatara, who was returning to Papadahandi with a few others in an SUV from Kotapad where they had gone to attend a wedding, had stopped near a forest to attend nature’s call. He then spotted an injured bear and decided to click a selfie with the wild animal.
Some fellow passengers captured the attack on video, while others threw rocks and sticks at the bear in an attempt to free Bhatara. A stray dog also tried to fight the bear as it was attacking Bhatara but could not save him.
The body of the driver was recovered late on Wednesday night after the bear was tranquilised. They also stated that the fellow passengers in the car instead of helping the driver were busy shooting the incident on their mobile phones and just sat there watching the whole incident take place. The only help that came for the dying man was by a stray dog who fought with the bear but failed to save Prabhu Bhatara from the bear’s grip. The bear is now being treated for his injuries, ranger Mohapatra said.
Local people angry with the incident staged a roadblock and demanded ex-gratia payment for the kin of the deceased. Immediately after the tragic incident, in order to perform Bhatara’s last rites, the forest officials have paid an amount of Rs 30000 to Bhatara’s family. The forest officials have said that the family of the deceased will be paid the full compensation within the next 15 days.
