A video has surfaced reportedly showing a safari guide charging at an elephant on a South African game reserve. More than 600,000 people have viewed a clip of the man running at the animal in Kruger National Park.

He was spurred on by another man, believed to his colleague, who can be heard shouting "Run at him, run at him - right now! Run! Run at him!"

The elephant flaps its ears and shakes its trunk but stands its ground as the man approaches. After falling over, the worker then runs towards the terrified animal for a second time, forcing it to retreat. He can be seen celebrating as onlookers laugh, cheer and punch the air.

Singita, the safari experience company which employed the guide, said he was no longer working for them.

Investigation into "unacceptable behaviour"

On its Facebook page, the company said it was "utterly distressed" by the incident, adding "As soon as we were made aware of the video, we took immediate action to investigate the unacceptable behaviour. The investigation is now complete. Severe action has been taken against those responsible and three guides involved in the confrontation are no longer employed by Singita".

The animal welfare charity People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals (PETA) said the elephant would have been stressed by its ordeal. A spokesman said "Losing their jobs has hopefully taught these grown men, who behaved like juvenile delinquents, a well-needed lesson".

"Besides the obvious stress this field guide caused the elephant, he also endangered the lives of everyone who was with him and shattered the trust of those who believed that the animals in this park are protected - unlike many animals imprisoned in zoos - from deliberate taunting. Animals do not exist for our amusement" they added.

Latest Sightings, the organisation which uploaded the video, said the man's actions were an "absolute disgrace".

Singita, which runs luxury lodges and tented camps across South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, insisted "We condemn behaviour like this and it in no way represents our ethos or philosophy in the natural world."

The African elephant seen in the video would have weighed up to 6 tons (12,000lb). The animal is found in 37 African countries but populations have declined in recent years because of illegal hunting, habitat loss and human conflict.

According to the African Wildlife Foundation, just 470,000 remain in the wild and the species' conservation status is "vulnerable".