WATCH: Agitated elephant chases Kruger National Park tourists

When on safari in Kruger National Park, you may experience some close encounters with the elephants.

As one citizen explains: “If you need to learn how to reverse, go to Kruger National Park. Once elephants chase you on the gravel roads, you learn quick-quick.”

This was the lesson a group of tourists learned on their recent visit to the Kruger National Park.

When the agitated elephant picked up speed, the four vehicles in the convoy quickly reversed and made a U-turn.

The animal slowed down the pace and was likely more curious than anything else, watching patiently as the tourists made their escape.

The magnificent beast followed them for a bit – probably to ensure his job was done and they had no intention of coming back – before veering off into the bush.

Death toll

Back in May, a spokesperson for the Zimbabwean government said sixty citizens had been killed by elephants so far this year.

Zimbabwe has the world’s second-largest population after Botswana, and about one-quarter of the elephants in all of Africa.

Unlike in much of the world, where poachers have killed off the animals for their tusks, Zimbabwe’s elephant population is growing at about 5% a year.

READ MORE: 60 Zimbabweans killed by elephants this year