Fact Check: Video Of Elephant Attacking Bulldozer Not Related to Kancha Gachibowli Deforestation Issue

New Delhi (Vishvas News): Two videos featuring elephants have gone viral on social media, with one showing the animal seemingly confronting a bulldozer, while the other highlighting a hole on its trunk. The video is being shared with the claim that it is from the Kancha Gachibowli forest of Telangana, where an elephant allegedly tried to stop the deforestation and was injured in the process.

Vishvas News investigated the viral claim and found it to be false. Neither video is related to Hyderabad’s Kancha Gazibowli forest. The first clip is from West Bengal, where a provoked wild elephant charged at a bulldozer and injured its trunk. The second video shows a female African elephant born with a hole in her trunk.

What is going viral?

Facebook user ‘Raja Bhai’ shared the viral video on April 8, 2025, with the caption, “ This elephant saved its house from a bulldozer. While saving the house, the elephant got injured. ”

Investigation

To verify the authenticity of the viral claim, we conducted a Google search using relevant keywords. This led us to a related report published on the official website of Times Now on February 6, 2025. According to the report, the viral video is from Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, where some locals provoked a wild elephant, prompting it to lash out and attack the construction material and the bulldozer at the site.

According to a report published on News18’s website on February 7, 2025, the viral video captures an incident in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, on February 1. Locals reportedly harassed and provoked the elephant, leading the angry elephant to attack a bulldozer. After the video went viral, the police took action, arresting an individual and seizing the bulldozer. The elephant sustained an injury to its trunk, however, no other injuries were reported.

Other news reports can be read here.

To verify the authenticity of the second elephant video, we extracted several key frames and conducted a reverse image search using Google. This led us to a related report published on a website called ‘Singita’ in April 2021. According to the report, the elephant featured in the video is named Randzekile, and she lives in Africa’s Greater Kruger National Park. The hole in her trunk has been there since birth.

During our investigation, we came across many other videos of Randjekile.

For further clarification, we contacted Sri Harsha, a local reporter based in Hyderabad. He confirmed that the viral video is not from here. However, he noted that there are ongoing protests locally concerning deforestation.

We also scanned the profile of the user who shared the video with the false claim and found that the user has over 5000 followers and frequently shares posts aligned with a specific ideology.

Conclusion: Vishvas News investigated the claim surrounding the viral video of an angry elephant attacking a bulldozer and found it to be false. Neither of the two videos has any connection to Hyderabad’s Kancha Gachibowli forest. The first viral video originates from West Bengal, where locals provoked a wild elephant, leading it to attack a bulldozer and injuring its trunk. The second video does not feature the same elephant; it depicts a female elephant from Africa, who has a hole in her trunk since birth.

Tags

• Hyderabad Deforestation
• Kancha Gachibowli
• Telangana's Kancha Gachibowli forest