Four young men were arrested in the southern Indian state of Kerala after a video of them throwing stones at elephants at Wayanad went viral on social media.
The video, which had been shot from another car, showed the three men running towards the female elephant and her calf to pelt them with stones and then running way several times. The video received over 3,000 shares on Facebook, with the forest department filing a complaint against the four. The men finally surrendered to the local officials on Mar. 29.
The incident had occurred on Mar. 25, at Muthanga on National Highway 22. The road cuts across three wildlife sanctuaries including the Wayanad National Park, the Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary and the Bandipur National Park. Travellers on NH22 often see animal crossings, with the surrounding forests being home to animals such as elephants, tigers, bears and leopards.