Wild Elephant Chases Motorcycle And Rattles Car On Gerik-Jeli Highway
Elephant encounters are quite common on the highway to and from Gerik.
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As Malaysians, we’re all aware that we share most of the land with wild animals and that they belong here as much as we do.
Everything from monkeys to elephants inhabit the soil we live on so it’s no surprise that these animals sometimes wander onto roads built by us.
If this ever happens to you, it’s important to stay calm and not aggravate the animal you come across.
Curious elephant says hello to a family
For one family, their journey on a highway through Gerik, Perak, became nerve-wracking when they came across a wild elephant that had found its way onto the road.
A video uploaded on TikTok by user Naim yesterday (12 February) shows dashcam footage of a motorcycle passing in front of the car, only to stop in its tracks when the rider noticed an elephant strolling onto the tarmac.
As the rider turned his bike around, the elephant took notice and started charging towards them but it couldn’t catch up as the motorcycle sped away in the other direction.
After that, the elephant turned its attention to the car where the dashcam footage is from and walked right up to it. The enormous mammal began nudging the car lightly a few times before walking away.
Netizens impressed at how calm the car’s driver was
In the comments section, many users shared how impressed they were by the driver and passenger’s ability to stay calm in the situation.
At the same time, a few other users pointed out that the motorcycle should not have moved so close to the animal as that might aggravate it. On top of that, some netizens also said the rider should’t have turned around towards the cars behind him either as that led the elephant towards the traffic that was piled up.
Elephants on the Gerik-Jeli highway are common
Elephant encounters on the road to and from Gerik are actually quite common, and there have actually been many viral videos shared on social media.
Just last month, a herd of ten wild elephants were spotted on the Gerik-Jeli highway, stunning motorists on their journey.
The herd included adult elephants as well as their young, strolling down the highway in a line formation.
However, not all encounters with these gentle giants are peaceful.
One incident on 25 January, 2023, saw an elephant charging towards a Toyota Vellfire after it was seemingly provoked.
What to do when encountering a wild elephant on the road
Although wild animals can be unpredictable, it’s never a bad idea to be prepared and equip yourself with some knowledge of what to do during an encounter.
Thailand’s Khao Yai National Park website tells visitors how to detect an elephant’s mood, as well as a few instructions of what to do when you meet one on the road:
To know that it’s in a good mood, the elephant will be flapping its ears, swaying its tail, grabbing branches to eat and not paying attention to humans.
Elephants will charge two or three times at anyone or anything that is annoying them within close range. If they can’t catch up, they will give up and stop running. A good tempered elephant will not attack even if a car drives close to them.
When an elephant is in a bad mood, its ears will be sticking out, its tail will be still, and it will be staring at you as though it’s getting ready to charge.
When you come across a wild elephant on the road, you should:
- Stop the car at least 30 meters from the elephant. If the elephant approaches, escape by reversing carefully. Wait until the elephant leaves the road before proceeding past it.
- Don’t use the horn or make any noise to annoy the elephant or try to drive the elephant away, as you may anger the elephant and cause it to approach you. Wild elephants have exceptionally sensitive hearing and the sharp sound of a horn may startle or anger them.
- Don’t use flash photography as this may startle the elephant and make the elephant interested in you and approach you.
- Always keep your engine running to escape if necessary. The low rumble of the engine will not startle or stress the elephant.
- If you encounter an elephant at night, keep your headlights on to see the elephant’s mood and the distance between you and the elephant. Don’t use your indicators as this light will be seen by the elephant and may attract their interest, causing them to approach you.
- If you are surrounded by elephants, stay calm. If it is night-time, dip your headlights, do not use indicators and move the vehicle in the direction where there are less elephants. Even if you have to get close to or push past a herd of elephants, don’t switch off your engine or your headlights under any circumstances and drive very slowly, trying to keep your engine as quiet as possible.
- Don’t stop your car to look at elephants, as there may be another vehicle following you and you will block the road, which might be the cause of an attack on you rather than the car.
- Don’t park your car to get close up photos of elephants, as you might not be able to run back to your car in time. Always remember that elephants move together in herds.
- When a cars are in a line, all drivers must act in solidarity. If a car ahead shows reversing lights, the car behind should reverse carefully.
Elephants are not usually aggressive creatures so it’s important to know not to provoke them, since they’re much larger than us humans.
Now that you know what to do, be safe the next time you’re driving through the Gerik-Jeli highway.
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