'Aggressive' Bull Elephant Charges and Lifts Safari Truck Blocking His Path in Shocking Footage
The field manager of the tour company involved in the incident said the elephant responded to tourists getting too close to take pictures
A safari truck had a frightening run-in with an angry bull elephant on March 20 at Pilanesberg National Park in South Africa
The elephant lifted and dropped the vehicle, which was filled with tourists, several times
The field manager for the tour company involved said the animal got "aggressive" after tourists got too close to take photos
Tourists on a safari in South Africa had a wild and unexpected animal encounter.
According to the Associated Press, a group of tourists were on a safari trip through Pilanesberg National Park in South Africa on March 20 when they encountered a pushy bull elephant.
The animal was unhappy with the vehicle's proximity. In response to the truck's presence, the wild animal charged toward the vehicle and tossed it several times, per the AP, almost piercing the truck with its tusks.
Footage from the incident shared on TikTok by @hendryblom shows the animal walking at the truck and then lifting it with his trunk while the driver of the vehicle yells at the enormous creature. In the video, the elephant drops the truck on the ground, backs away, then approaches the vehicle again and picks it up. After the elephant drops the safari truck for a second time in the clip, the vehicle reverses out of the animal's path.
"We might win next time at 2 truths and a lie," the TikTok user captioned the clip. The poster, named Hendry Blom, told ABC News that those who witnessed the clash "were definitely scared, especially for the people in the truck."
The shocking footage has received over 65.3 million views. A second video posted by @hendryblom shows the same incident from inside the safari vehicle.
According to the AP, the driver and passengers were not injured during their encounter with the elephant but were frightened by the interaction.
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Poncho Mogodiri, the field operations manager of the tour company operating the vehicle, Mankwe Game Trackers, told ABC News the incident with the elephant occurred when tourists "came too close to the elephant to take pictures, and he started getting aggressive."
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Mogodiri also said the elephant was in musth, a periodic condition in bull elephants that leads to increased reproductive hormones and aggressive behavior.
Pilanesberg National Park is investigating the incident.
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