An elephant bull in the Selati Game Reserve damaged an EcoTraining vehicle on 28 November 2021. The bull was in musth, which is a periodic condition in elephant bulls where elevated testosterone levels result in highly aggressive and combative behaviour.
On a routine activity, the EcoTraining instructors and trainees came across a breeding herd of elephants. The vehicle stopped to observe the elephants and give them a chance to settle down. An elephant bull, who was with the breeding herd, mock charged the vehicle. The elephant bull mock charged again, when they moved forward slowly, and then made contact with the game drive vehicle and displaced it off the road.
Once the vehicle had come to a standstill, the trainees were moved to the second vehicle that was parked in close proximity. Both EcoTraining instructors that accompanied the trainees have more than 25 years of experience in the field.
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The General Manager of Selati Game Reserve, Bryan Havemann, was contacted shortly after the incident and went to the scene to assess the situation. Havemann said, ‘although the vehicle was damaged, thankfully none of the people on the vehicle were injured.’
EcoTraining said that all the people involved in the incident have received professional counselling after the incident.
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