Wildlife is unpredictable. One moment, animals can seem placid, and the next, their behaviour changes. In this video, tourists have a close encounter with an elephant
Brett Greve submitted this dramatic footage to Latest Sighthings. He filmed the incident while on a game drive in South Africa’s Greater Kruger.
Approaching traffic
As we join Brett on the game drive, we see an elephant bull walking down the road towards us. He has a distinctive swagger about him.
With thick bush on both sides of the road, the guide brings the safari vehicle to a halt, leaving the engine running. At this stage, the elephant is still some distance away.
Quiet descends
Subsequently, the elephant stops. Elephants have poor eyesight, and it is likely that it had just spotted the vehicle in the road ahead of it.
As the elephant stops, the guide switches off the vehicle. Consequently, a deceptive quiet descends as the bull considers its options.
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Elephant approaches
Subsequently, the elephant decides to approach the vehicle. As the biggest creature in the bushveld, elephants have little to fear.
Male elephants can weigh up to 6 tons and stand up to 4 metres tall. Immensely powerful, they are only threatened by man and lions, on rare occasions.
Close encounters normal
Consequently, it is not too surprising when the elephant gets closer with each step. In reserves without hunting or high levels of poaching, they readily become habituated to vehicles.
Furthermore, they are curious by nature, and close encounters often pass without incident. However, experienced guides know the only predictable thing about wildlife is its unpredictability.
Noise deterrence
When the elephant gets to within ten metres, the guide starts the engine, presumably hoping the noise will deter the elephant from coming closer.
However, the bull continues approaching, turning his great head to look down on the vehicle. As he does, we notice some ominous signs.
Aggressive breeding phase
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On the side of his head, there is a heavy, streaming secretion from his temporal gland. While this can happen when female elephants are excited, in males it signals that the individual is in its breeding phase.
Then, when his hind legs become visible, we note that the shins are wet with urine. This, combined with the swagger and secretion, confirms that the bull is in musth.
Musth is caused by a temporary but massive increase in their testosterone levels. Bulls in musth are notoriously unpredictable.
The situation escalates
After sizing up the vehicle, the bull comes closer still. As he does, he slaps the vehicle with his trunk.
Then, when the guide revs the vehicle, the bull lowers his head and pushes against the vehicle’s bonnet.
As he does, the guide stands and shouts at the bull. Seeing this, the bull backs up and does a bizarre display on the road.
Meanwhile, the guide wisely backs up to give the bull some space.
With nowhere to go but backwards, the guide steadily retreated until he got an opportunity to leave the area.
