iStockphoto / George Wagner
Bull elephants can weigh over 13,000 pounds, stand 13 feet tall, and have incredibly powerful ivory tusks which they can put to work when they want to. It is a creature that humans absolutely to not want to cross in the bush when the elephant can pick up their entire vehicle and toss it like a rag doll which is precisely what happened on a recent safari.
In this instance, some guests had exited the safari vehicle during a stop at the Rathlogo Bird Hide in the Pilanesberg Game Reserve National Park. The guide, Bongani Yende, recognized the extreme agitation of the bull elephant and made a quick decision in order to keep his guests safe.
He maneuvered the safari vehicle in between the elephant and the guests so the elephant would charge the vehicle instead of the unprotected people. What he didn’t expect was for the elephant to pick up the vehicle with its tusks and toss it around like it was a toy.
A full video of the encounter was shared on the LatestSightings YouTube channel and additional clips from other angles went viral over the past two days on TikTok:
This alternate angle shows the perspective of the safari guests who were hiding from the agitated bull elephant:
@hendryblom We might win next time at 2 truths and a lie #safari #southafrica #wildlife #elephant
I’ve probably watched thousands of hours of nature documentaries throughout my lifetime and I’m well aware of how strong elephants are but I have never seen an instance like this where an elephant takes on a truck. Anything I’ve seen that’s close to this involves the elephant posturing and making a huge show of dominance but ultimately walking away.
It’s never occurred to me until this video that the elephant won’t always walk away once it shows the safari passengers who is in charge.