After losing out on his love interest, a wild elephant has turned his attention to cars.
Authorities in southern China say the male elephant wandered out of a reservation area Friday following a failed courtship and started playing with cars parked along a highway, damaging more than a dozen vehicles.
The government of Xishuangbanna prefecture says the animal recently lost to another male elephant in a battle for the affections of a female, and that his temperament was moody.
No tourist was hurt
The government said the elephant did not hurt any of the tourists who had crowded the area during the Lunar New Year holiday, and who were very excited to see the elephant.
It said 15 cars were dented and that the elephant later returned to the reservation area. “The tourists were quite excited to see a real wild elephant, and they were using their cellphones to take photos and videos,” the government said. “Even the owners of some damaged cars found the experience to be thrilling and very interesting, although their cars got scraped.”
The owners of the 15 cars that were damaged by the elephant will be compensated, the government said.
