People Run For Their Lives As Enraged Elephant Charges At Safari Vehicle [Watch]

A video that shows an enraged elephant attacking a vehicle full of trainees and an instructor who had gone on a safari drive has gone viral on social media.

The group was on a drive at the Selati Game Reserve, South Africa, on Sunday afternoon, when they came across a breeding herd of elephants. Suddenly, one of the elephants started charging at the vehicle, IOL reported.

A video of the incident shows the trainees quickly dropping their belongings and getting off the vehicle to escape. One person can be heard screaming "Get out, get out" in the background. The elephant eventually leaves the scene and the people continue to run for their lives.

The elephant is believed to be experiencing musth, which is a periodic condition characterized by aggressive behavior due to a rise in reproductive hormones.

Anton Lategan from EcoTraining told The Citizen that an EcoTraining instructor and the trainees came across the elephants during a routine activity at the game reserve.

"The vehicle stopped to observe the elephants and give them a chance to settle down”, however, an elephant bull 'mock-charged the vehicle,'" he told the outlet.

The elephant charged a second time when the group moved forward slowly and "then made contact with the vehicle and displaced it off the road," he added.

No one was injured in the incident; however, the vehicle was completely damaged.

Bryan Havemann, general manager of Selati Game Reserve, who assessed the situation at the scene, told The Citizen, "Although the vehicle was damaged, thankfully none of the people on the vehicle were injured."

Elephants are usually peaceful animals but the female may, however, become a little aggressive when young calves are present around them. Bull elephants, on the other hand, can be very aggressive during musth.

"Elephants react to threats or challenges in three different ways. Dominance or threat displays are designed to demonstrate the superior strength and social position of the individual. They may look towards the threat, spreading their ears out. ‘Standing tall’, they raise their head and tusks high. Head-shaking and trunk-swishing can also be seen," South African National Parks states.