Elephant tips another car Kruger

[PRWIN]

Kruger Sightings

https://www.facebook.com/latestsighting ... =1&theater

Young Elephant Bull tipped a car over early this morning at Sable dam

People are all well, Luckily nobody got hurt. And the guy asked SANPARKS to please leave elephant alone. Young bull in musth, just wanted to cross over and little red car annoyed him



Any more news

[PJL]

I was also wondering if there was any news on this PRWIN

At least the occupants weren't hurt and it sounds like they were understanding of the elephant's behaviour

[PRWIN]

Media release SP

http://www.sanparks.org/about/news/default.php?id=56149

An elephant overturned a vehicle driven by local tourists at Sable Dam near Phalaborwa Gate in the Kruger National Park (KNP) around 07:15 this morning. A local doctor rushed to the scene of the accident to attend to tourists immediately and they are all well with minor injuries.


The tourists came to the Park this morning as day visitors and are back at their home in Tzaneen already. They were on their way to Letaba Rest Camp and passed by the Sable Dam, which overlooks a sleep-over hide and has an abundance of animals that gather to drink. The elephant was busy drinking water from the dam on the opposite side of where the vehicle was, when it suddenly walked through the water towards one of the tourists’ car; which was on the other side.

“Although according to the tourists who were there, the elephant did not show any signs of agitation; we would like to appeal to the public to be on the look-out for them when driving in that area. Please ensure that you are not blocked by another vehicle when these huge animals approach, so that you can get away quickly when the need arises”, said the KNP’s GM: Communications and Marketing, William Mabasa.

More than 1, 5 million people visit the KNP each year and incidents of this sort are rare but not unheard of as elephants can toss and uproot trees with ease.

The tourists’ vehicle which was overturned by the elephant at Sable Dam in the KNP today.

Issued by:
South African National Parks (SANParks) Kruger National Park Communications
Tel: 013 735 4262

Enquiries:
William Mabasa
GM: Communications & Marketing, Kruger National Park
Tel: 013 735 4363, Cell: 082 807 3919
Email: william.mabasa@sanparks.org

Ike Phaahla
Media Specialist, SANParks
Tel: 012 426 5315; Cell: 083 673 6974;
Email: Isaac.phaahla@sanparks.org

[Lisbeth]

" Please ensure that you are not blocked by another vehicle when these huge animals approach, so that you can get away quickly when the need arises”

That's the difficult part

[Amoli]

This looks like the little back road the one Sprocky goes to...

there are always ellies around and there is hardly space to move...

[nan]

This looks like the little back road the one Sprocky goes to...

there are always ellies around and there is hardly space to move...

right... I had often Ellie here, but never it seems I was in danger
stop and wait...

glad nobody was hurt... and what about the Elephant

[Bushcraft]

" Please ensure that you are not blocked by another vehicle when these huge animals approach, so that you can get away quickly when the need arises”

That's the difficult part

Whaha Maybe the SANParks spokesperson should try and practice what he preaches on the H4-1 around lunch time

[Richprins]

This is fishy, IMO...lots more info needed.

[Richprins]

The point that concerns me is that elephant seem to have changed their behavioural patterns, if this incident is accurately reported.

I have been in the same situation myself, years ago, being first in line and boxed in at Renosterpan parking lot, in a small red car, where the adult ellie bull was just trying to get right of way, waited, smelled my bonnet with his trunk, waited..and eventually moved around all of us. I wet myself, but that is irrelevant, maybe.

I'm also not so sure if the tourist could so succinctly have identified the elephant as a "young" bull in "musth"...that is mostly an adult bull thing?

All car attacks I know about, including the much-publicised ones lately, have been adult bulls "harrassed" on open roads, or purportedly just going crazy..., also on open roads? Never at a lookout point?

It seems very strange that an unhindered/unblocked ellie would basically "stalk" a stationary vehicle with intent to tip it? Elephants are extremely intelligent.

It is also strange that there is only one pic...this area is very close to a multitude of tourists entering at Phalaborwa, and the wreck would have been there for some time? In fact, the "wreck" looks remarkably intact, no broken glass, signs of sliding etc. I know that little loop, and while the photo is a magnificent pose, it seems very difficult to gauge how an ellie could roll the car from the left...a single roll...would have been very "soft"...maybe, who knows?

It is also highly unusual for traumatised tourists involved in such an experience to immediately call for the elephant not to be killed...that would be the last thing on my mind, unless I had extensively followed similar elephant incidents in Kruger on social media? Maybe I'm less tough? The names of the tourists haven't been mentioned yet, as far as I know, which normally happens eventually, especially in network media, where they recount their experiences, as with all the other recent ones.

[Lisbeth]

Maybe they have finally got fed up with all the cars invading their territory