CAPE TOWN: Bystanders were left reeling as a bull elephant charged and overturned a vehicle in Cape Vidal, Simangaliso Wetland Park, in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday.
The park is home to large numbers of hippos, crocodiles, pelicans and flamingos.
Elephants, giraffes and leopards inhabit the grasslands and forests of the nearby Western Shores and Charters Creek areas.
In a video, which has gone viral on social media, visitors to the park film an elephant as it pounces on a white Ford SUV off the side of a road.
The driver of the vehicle sounds his hooter continuously to get the elephant’s attention. A woman can be heard asking him to put the vehicle into reverse and get ready to move.
Gasps of horror can be heard as the elephant pushes the vehicle on its side and then pushes it even harder until it lands on its roof.
The driver tells the woman to “phone them”.
“I don’t know who to phone,” she responds.
Pictures of the vehicle after the attack have also gone viral on social media. Four bicycles belonging to the occupants, the vehicle’s cracked windscreen and dented bodywork can be seen in the images.
All calls and queries made to the iSimangaliso Wetland Park went unanswered.
According to the Daily Maverick, the occupants of the vehicle were a family of four – a husband, wife and two children – believed to be from Mtunzini.
The family were not seriously hurt but have been left traumatised, the publication reported.
It further stated park officials would investigate what led to the attack.
IOL