Angered elephant destroys tourists’ vehicle during a safari

What happens when cheeky humans drive too close to a group of wild elephants? Not much good, as you can imagine.

Angered elephant destroys tourists’ vehicle during a safari
© Getty Images / David Clode
Angered elephant destroys tourists’ vehicle during a safari

When on a safari in South Africa, these tourists decided to get a little too close to a herd of elephants.When they realised that their actions had angered a giant mammal, it was already too late.

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A destroyed vehicle

This unfortunate encounter between the two species took place in the Selati Game Reserve in South Africa. Although it lasted only a few seconds, the confrontation left a lasting impression on the few bold tourists who thought they could get up close and personal with a herd of wild animals.

After driving towards a 4-metre-tall male elephant, they quickly regretted their action when the wild animal started charging towards their jeep. All it took were a couple of big blows by the elephant and the vehicle was left in a horrendous condition. The whole ordeal was captured on camera by one of the tourists and has now been shocking netizens all over the world.

In the video below, you can see one of the doors of the jeep completely smashed in. The elephant also punctured large holes in the body of the car. Luckily all of the tourists that were aboard left the safari completely unharmed.

Why did the elephant charge?

According to The Sun, the tourists chose the wrong elephant to mess with that day. Particularly because that specific male elephant had testosterone levels that were out of the roof. This state is called ‘musth’ and it is a periodic condition that increases a male’s testosterone levels up to 60 times.

Because of this, the elephant was probably nervous and took the humans getting close to him as a sign of aggression. But musth or not, it’s always important to keep your distance from a wild elephant.

Tourists left terrified as elephants charge their jeep Tourists left terrified as elephants charge their jeep