After losing out on his love interest, a wild elephant has turned his attention to cars.

• Video: elphant on rampage in India

Authorities in southern China say the male elephant wandered out of a reservation area on Friday following a failed courtship and started attacking cars parked along a highway, damaging more than a dozen vehicles.

The government of Xishuangbanna prefecture says the animal recently lost to another male elephant in a battle for the affections of a female, and that his temperament was moody.

The government said the elephant did not hurt any of the tourists who had crowded the area during the Lunar New Year holiday.

It said 15 cars were dented and that the elephant later returned to the reservation area.