A scary video has emerged from South Africa that shows an elephant lifting a safari truck several times. According to ABC News, the incident took place at Pilanesberg National Park on Monday and tourists had to duck between the seats inside the 22-seater. In the video, the driver is heard calling for the elephant to "go away" and slapping his hand against the side of the truck to scare away the huge animal. The elephant then left the vehicle and moved to the side.
The clip was recorded by Hendry Blom, who was present inside the national park at that time. "We were definitely scared, especially for the people in the truck because we thought they might die," he told ABC News.
Another video from inside the truck shows frightened tourists cowering on the floor of the vehicle.
The outlet also spoke to Poncho Mogodiri, field operations manager of Mankwe Game Trackers, the tour company involved in the incident. He said the tourists were in animal hide when the bull elephant approached them.
The officer added that the truck came too close to the elephant as tourists wanted to take pictures, which is why the animal got aggressive.
"Hides provide you with the rare opportunity to unobtrusively view the wildlife and birds at close quarters," the national park said in a statement.
The way the tour guide handled the situation is being praised by wildlife experts.
"Anyone that's worked with elephants will tell you when a bull like that charges, you don't turn and run, you need to make as much noise and stand your ground," Ron Magill, communications director at Zoo Miami, told the outlet.
No one was injured in the incident, said park authorities, adding that one family was offered counselling after being left "extremely rattled".
