Elephant in a good mood

Ears flapping and tail swaying, trunk swinging from side to side, or grabbing branches to eat, without paying much attention to people. Elephants will charge someone 2 or 3 times who is annoying them in close range. If they cannot catch up, elephants will give up and stop running. A good-tempered elephant will not attack, even if a car drives close to them.

Elephant in a bad mood

Ears sticking out, tail not swaying, trunk stock still and staring at you as if to charge. If the elephant is angry or suspicious, such as a cow with a calf, they may attack something bothering them, even if it is far away.

1. Stop the car at least 30m from the elephant. If the elephant approaches, escape by reversing, taking due care. Wait until the elephant has left the road before proceeding past it.
2. Don’t use the horn, make any noise to annoy the elephant or try driving 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.
3. Don’t use flash photography as this may startle the elephant when close and make the elephant interested in you and approach you. Once an elephant has become startled, it wears off slowly.
4. Always keep your engine running to escape if necessary. The low rumble of the engine will not startle or stress the elephant, as it is the familiar sound of a car.
5. If you encounter an elephant at night, keep your headlights on to conveniently 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.
6. If you are surrounded by elephants, stay calm and collected. If it is night-time, dip your headlights, do not use indicators and move the vehicle in the direction that 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.
7. 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.
8. Don’t park your car to get close up shots of elephants, as you might not be able to run back to your car in time. Always remember that elephants move together in family groups or herds.
9. When a cars are in a line, drivers must act in solidarity. Whether a car is close to or far away from elephants, anyone may be in an incident. If a car ahead shows reversing lights, the car behind should reverse carefully.