Dramatic footage of a large bull elephant "charging" at tourists on safari in Sri Lanka.

The video, filmed in Uda Walawe National Park, shows the elephant possibly warning the tourists to keep their distance by throwing dirt in the air with his trunk.

Then, all of a sudden, he dummy charges towards the jeep.

"We pulled up close to this big bull who was all on his own," the filmer wrote online.

"He seemed docile as he threw mud on his body with his trunk then he suddenly got agitated by our presence and charged full pelt towards our jeep."