'We were stunned, over 10 elephants crossed right in front of us'

IPOH – Four friends faced a terrifying moment when they encountered two herds of elephants while travelling along the East-West Highway (JRTB) near Pulau Banding, Gerik on their way to Kota Bharu, Kelantan, early Thursday morning.

Zulqarnain Othman, 38, said the group of four departed from Ipoh at 1am in a multipurpose vehicle (MPV) before coming across the two herds of elephants, estimated to be more than 10 in total, at around 4.30am at the scene of the incident.

He said that the road was dark at the time and there were no other vehicles so they did not notice the herd of elephants crossing.

"Fortunately, we weren't driving fast because we were carrying a lot of items.

"Otherwise, we might have hit the elephants or swerved off the road trying to avoid the wild animals. Luckily, we were safe and nothing untoward happened.

"From a distance, we saw a dark figure, which we thought might be a ghost or something but as we got closer, we realised it was actually two herds of elephants.

“So, we stopped the vehicle until they had all crossed," he said when contacted on Thursday.

Meanwhile, another passenger of the vehicle, Muhammad Farhan Che Zafri, 35 said that the incident was unforgettable as it left them all stunned.

He said that based on their observation, the herd comprised adult elephants along with several baby elephants and one of the elephants even tried to approach their vehicle before eventually moving away with the herd.

“We were really shocked at that moment because it was so close, right in front of us. We couldn’t even think of what prayer to recite because the number of elephants was overwhelming, not just one or two like we’ve seen in viral videos or pictures before.

“We stopped for about five minutes to ensure the elephants crossed safely before continuing our journey.

“We don’t know whether to call it a valuable experience or a terrifying one because we didn’t know how to react,” said Farhan, who manages event production.

He added that besides the two of them, another friend, Mohamad Azzan Ghani, 37, who was a rear passenger, managed to take photos of the animals, while Maarof Ahmad, 44, the driver, was also left speechless at the sight of the herd.

Farhan said they felt immense relief after passing the herd and made a brief stop at Bukit Bunga before continuing their journey to Kota Bharu, Kelantan, where they arrived at 10am.

Farhan also said that they planned to return to Ipoh on Friday via a different route, fearing they might encounter the same herd again.

Zulqarnain and Farhan shared their experience on their personal Facebook accounts.