Have you ever wondered how strong an elephant is? A viral video shows the power of an elephant as it pushes down a tree in South Africa and makes it look easy. Kevin Pietersen shared the video back in 2023 while on safari, and tons of people found the casual display of force to be fascinating.
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“Raw power. Brute strength!” wrote Pietersen in his TikTok post sharing the video, which has 5.5 million views. The video is still being circulated online as an example of just how powerful these large African mammals are.
In fact, African bush elephants just might be the strongest animals in the world in terms of brute strength. Their trunks alone have 40,000 muscles and tendons, which can lift more than 400 pounds.Â
As to why this elephant pushed a tree over, it was probably to get at something it wanted to eat. “Elephants break trees as a way to get easier access to the leaves, roots and nutrients in the tree. This destructive behaviour actually benefits other species as well and seeds can be dispersed helping new trees to grow,” says Krugerpark.co.za.
Watch as an elephant pushes over a tree:
Pietersen actually shared two separate videos of elephants pushing down trees. Here’s the other one:
