Usually gentle, elephants are rarely known to charge at human beings. Recently a footage showing this species do so at a safari vehicle with its occupants running for their lives in Selati Game Reserve in South Africa has gone viral on social media, including Facebook and Twitter.
Too much intrusion will take your life in Wilderness. However, wild animals keeps on forgiving us since long.#responsible_tourism specially wildlife tourism should be educational rather recreational.
हांथी के इतना घुसा नही जाता 🙏 watch second video too pic.twitter.com/AOKGZ2BAjB— WildLense® Eco Foundation 🇮🇳 (@WildLense_India) November 30, 2021
Situated near the Kruger National Park, trainee guides were being driven through the Selati Game Reserve, when an elephant made an appearance from the undergrowth. It ran straight at the vehicle.
The video clipping shot by the EcoTraining guides shows the 13-foot elephant charging at the jeep and flipping it over. The safari guide in the vehicle which was following them can be heard shouting "Get out, get out, get out”. Once ejected from the vehicle, the trainee guides ran away from the angry and aggressive animal towards the other vehicle.
In another clip the trainees are seen running away with the elephant turning back without following and hurting them.
Noble giant left them unharmed pic.twitter.com/DAk7yO0LU2
— WildLense® Eco Foundation 🇮🇳 (@WildLense_India) November 30, 2021
In its statement, EcoTraining has said that its instructors and trainees had come across a breeding herd of elephants during a routine tour. The bull elephant was in musth which is a state of sexual aggression that occurs among the males during the mating season, making makes them extremely aggressive and violent towards humans and other elephants.
EcoTraining stated: "An elephant bull, who was with the breeding herd, mock charged the vehicle. The elephant bull mock charged again, when they moved forward slowly, and then made contact with the game drive vehicle and displaced it off the road.”
Fortunately, all the occupants escaped unhurt. Bryan Havemann, the General Manager of the reserve said: "Although the vehicle was damaged, thankfully none of the people on the vehicle were injured.”
Those involved in this incident later received professional counselling.
