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Tourists Injured When Bull Elephant Attacks Vehicle At Kruger National Park

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Published Date

December 31, 2013

Two Kruger National Park visitors were injured, one seriously, when a bull elephant charged their vehicle and flipped it over.

Park officials say the elephant was "on musth," or experiencing a substantial rise in testosterone levels due to breeding season, and became enraged at the vehicle and its two passengers, who were videotaping the elephant Monday afternoon.

The incident took place in the southern part of Kruger National Park along the N’waswitshaka Waterhole south of the Phabeni tarred road.

"The elephant was walking in front of the couple’s vehicle whilst they were videoing it from behind for a period of time and it suddenly stopped, turned around and rapidly walked towards the vehicle which was stationery at that time," a park release said. "The elephant charged at them, attacked the vehicle and flipped it over off the road into the thick bushes."

A helicopter flew the unidentified injured couple to Skukuza to receive emergency medical treatment from the Skukuza Doctors. After being stabilized, they were flown to a nearby hospital in Nelspruit.

"The female tourist was seriously injured by one of the elephant’s tasks which perforated and ripped open the back of her upper thigh. The male tourist suffered minor injuries," the release said.

The bull elephant, which was euthanized, not only was on musth but it also had recently been injured, the park reported.

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