Wild Elephant Charges At Mahindra Jeep During Jungle Safari: Legendary Driving Saves Tourists

Wild animals attacking people and damaging vehicles have become a common occurrence in many parts of the country. This conflict between man and the wild is something that we have often seen on the internet. Here we have a video where a group of tourists on a jungle safari narrowly escaped after a wild elephant charged at them during the trip.

The video has been circulating on various social media platforms. It was shared by Girish R on his Instagram page. In this video, we see a wild elephant with long tusks charging towards the safari vehicle. It looks like the incident is from somewhere in Karnataka.

Jungle safaris are common in many parts of India and, in most cases, only special safari vehicles with trained drivers are allowed for such activities. Here in this video, we see exactly why you need a driver with enough experience for such situations. In this case, the Mahindra Bolero safari vehicle’s driver stayed calm while the elephant was charging towards them.

In fact, not just the driver but even the tourists in the car maintained silence. The driver saw the elephant and realized the danger. Instead of turning the car around, he decided to reverse the vehicle through the jungle trail.

The driver was so focused and calm that he kept looking at the ORVM and reversing the car while maintaining a good speed. He drove the jeep in reverse because he wouldn’t have had enough time to actually turn the car around. If he had, it would have been an easy day at work for him.

Driving in reverse made the situation far more challenging. Reversing a car is extremely difficult, as you must keep track of what is behind your vehicle through the small ORVM while maintaining speed. Proper eye-hand coordination also matters a lot in such situations.

The elephant was right in front of the safari vehicle and even brushed its tusk against the bonnet of the car. The driver, however, maintained his calm throughout and parked the vehicle on the side of the road behind a tree. It’s unclear whether the jeep was intentionally driven behind the tree or if it accidentally crashed. Whatever the case, the elephant turned around once the jeep stopped.

This is not the first time we have come across such an incident from South India. There have been instances where wild elephants, venturing onto roads in search of food, have attacked people and damaged vehicles. This man-animal conflict is mainly due to humans encroaching upon forests. Some of these animals, which are considered extremely problematic, are often captured by authorities and relocated to other regions. However, in this case, it happened inside a reserve forest.

Wild elephants, or any animals in the wild, are very sensitive. They often get scared by loud sounds or flashy lights and usually attack only when provoked. We assume the noise from the jeep’s engine might have provoked the elephant in this case. Thankfully, everyone in the vehicle escaped unhurt.