Footage showing what is thought to be a sex-crazed male elephant flipping over a car has emerged from South Africa.
In the video posted to Facebook by Port Elizabeth Traffic Updates, the bull can be seen using its trunk to roll a white car onto its side in Cape Vidal.
Other drivers on the road, who are filming, honk their car horn loudly while reversing as the elephant continues to tip the white car over and push it off the road.
Elephant flipped a vehicle Cape Vidal...(Cape Vidal is situated within iSimangaliso Wetland Park KwaZulu Natal, South Africa)
A woman lets out a terrified gasp as the elephant eventually tips the car to be completely upside down.
Commentators said the elephant appeared to be a male in musht, a reproductive period where they become extremely aggressive.
Photos of the destroyed car show windows to be completely smashed or badly broken. Nearly all of the exterior is dented, and a wing mirror has fallen off.
An elephant welfare advocate, Mary Ann Budin, reposted the video on Facebook.
She wrote: "People need to be aware that these gentle giants can feel frightened or provoked. We don't know what this elephant has experienced, they have intelligence and very good memory. It is so difficult for them. Habitat is dwindling, human elephant conflict exists more so in these times and also they are being poached at a number of 96 a day just for their ivory, fueled by terrorism and human greed. Humans must respect them and keep distance from them."
Others expressed concern that the elephant had been provoked. Another person, Gretchen Abrahams, wrote: "This elephant would've exhibited multiple signs of irritation and aggression before charging this car. It is important that we as humans educate ourselves prior to driving through wildlife areas.
"Not blaming anyone, this driver might have done everything right, and I'm so glad the people in the vehicle are OK, but as humans we also need to understand that these are animals in their natural environment and when they feel threatened they will react."
According to South Africa national parks, elephants are usually peaceful animals and only become aggressive when sick, injured or harassed. Male elephants in particular can also become aggressive when breeding, due to the surge in testosterone.
Rishad Khan posted the video saying he was sent it via WhatsApp. He said no one was badly hurt in the incident. Amanda Theron De Gaspary replied to his post: "Eyewitness report: The Elephant Bull is in Musht. The people who were actually in the front of the queue saw this and kept reversing out the way,keeping distance ... When the elephant went into the bush, most cars behind the queue tried to drive past and this particular car stopped at the spot it had disappeared into the bush!
"Elephant didn't obviously like that he had stopped so there goes the car ... It seems like human error was at play,not respecting the nature of a bull in Musht."
Other similar incidents have occurred in the past when elephants have been breeding.
In November, footage posted by a man who was on a safari on Selati Game Reserve in Kruger National Park, showed an elephant charging at a vehicle and pushing it off the road.
The safari vehicles had reportedly approached a breeding herd of elephants and had stopped in order to give them a chance to calm down. A bull, however, can be seen approaching the vehicle and charging, pushing it sideways as the person taking the film attempts to flee.
