KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 — A family of six heading back to Kuala Lumpur from Kelantan had an alarming experience after their car was shoved by a passing-by elephant.

This was seen in a video shared on TikTok by user Abdul Jad Ayub. Viewed over three million times, it showed their close encounter with the large mammal at the Gerik-Jeli route.

In the video, the elephant was seen walking by the side of the road before approaching several vehicles. It then shoved the backseat passenger door of Abdul’s car as it passed by them.

Talking to MStar, Abdul who was travelling with his wife and four children, said that it was their first time using the route as they were hoping to avoid the heavy traffic on the highway towards Bentong.

However, Abdul and his family were met with a standstill traffic on the road just before the Titiwangsa stop.

"I noticed many cars from the opposite direction were high-beaming us and we thought there was an accident.

"Not long after, we saw the elephant walking by the side of the road. We were shocked by how big it was.

"At first I thought of overtaking the car in front of us but then decided to stay put as I was scared that my action could trigger the elephant,” he said.

He added that the elephant came back and shoved their car after hearing one of his children’s shrieks.

Despite the shove looking like a gentle one in the video, Abdul said he could feel their car lifted momentarily on one side. He immediately sprinted forward soon after and stopped at the Titiwangsa stop to check the damage.

Aside from scratches and dents, the ‘gentle shove’ by the elephant resulted in the backseat window being unable to operate properly.

"Fortunately it’s tusks didn’t hit the window because if it had, I honestly don’t know what would happen.

"I’m grateful that all six of us are safe. Our lives are what matters, the car can still be fixed,” Abdul said.