A man is standing next to a giraffe with only its head sticking out above the ground.

Upon closer inspection, the place where the giraffe has fallen is a massive sinkhole.

Politicians from a major opposition party in South Africa installed a stuffed giraffe model in the pit to raise awareness about the severity of a neglected sinkhole on a road.

They even posted a video on social media with the caption, "A sinkhole deep enough for a giraffe to stand in."

Citizens who saw the footage mistook it for a real giraffe falling in and reported it, leading to an emergency dispatch of animal rescue teams.

The rescue teams poured criticism on the politicians' stunt, stating that precious time and resources were wasted.

(Source: X @DA_GPL, Facebook @Tyrone Michael Gray)