An elephant on heat charged a safari jeep before crushing a tree chasing the vehicle down the road.

Christiaan Swanepoel was leading a tour through Welgevonden Game Reserve, South Africa, when they came across a giant animal in musth.

Tense footage shows the 25-year-old guide carefully reversing away from the five-tonne elephant as it ran headfirst at his guests.

Despite seeming to lose interest in Christiaan, the bull flattened a tree with ease while chasing them all the way to another road where they could speed away to safety.

Christiaan said: “In short this bull was trying to assert dominance. Musth means an elephant’s testosterone can be about 40-50 times higher than normal.

“When you have that much testosterone in an animal that weighs more than five tonnes, it is a tense time.

“I have been a guide for five years and this has happened before to me but it’s always nerve-wracking as every situation can be different.

“You have to stand your ground while also giving the elephant enough space to try and defuse the situation.

“Fortunately I was able to reverse away from the bull before speeding away to safety.”