Tag: Elephant

Elephant attacks safari vehicle, killing American tourist; video

Footage shows the elephant pursuing and flipping the vehicle, which had stopped in dense terrain at a national park in Zambia.

Footage has surfaced showing the harrowing moments last Saturday as a massive bull elephant chased and flipped a safari vehicle in Zambia, causing the death of a U.S. tourist.

The accompanying footage, shared by Andrew Cash, shows the elephant closing on the vehicle, which had run out of road moments before the attack. As tourists express alarm, a guide repeatedly yells “Hey!” in an attempt to ward off the elephant.

Details are slow to emerge, but Wilderness Destinations issued a statement in the aftermath of the incident in Kafue National Park. It reads, in part:

“Wilderness can confirm that an 80-year-old female American guest was tragically killed by a bull elephant while on a game drive at its Kafue National Park destination in Zambia on Saturday.

“Another female guest was also injured in this incident, when an aggressive bull elephant charged the vehicle carrying six guests and a guide who were on a game drive from Lufupa Camp. The injured guest was taken to a private medical facility in South Africa while the other four guests received treatment for minor injuries.”

Elephant attacks are rare, but the docile-looking animals are unpredictable and should always be treated with respect.

Wilderness Destinations expressed “deepest condolences to the family of the guest who died” and addressed remarks on social media regarding why the vehicle had stopped:

“Our guides are all extremely well trained and experienced, but sadly in this instance the terrain and vegetation was such that the guide’s route became blocked and he could not move the vehicle out of harm’s way quickly enough.”

A helicopter was involved in the rescue of the injured tourists. Several agencies are involved in the investigation.

–Elephant image is generic

Angry elephant lifts safari truck into the air, ‘traumatizes’ tourists

Video shows the attack from afar and from inside the truck. Some criticized the driver, but apparently there is more to the story.

An angry bull elephant in Pilanesberg National Park in South Africa attacked a safari truck, twice lifting it into the air and slamming it down as terrified tourists took cover between the seats.

Video posted on YouTube by iReport South Africa shows the attack from afar and from inside the truck.

The driver yelled at the elephant “hey, hey, move, move.” He slammed the side of his door. But nothing worked.

Finally, the driver backed up and the elephant lost interest, wandering off the road.

The South African reported that it remains unclear when this incident occurred and if anyone was injured.

Commenters on YouTube were critical of the driver, calling him an “idiot” and a guide “with no respect,” and insisting he be fired for “putting tourists in danger.”

But one commenter who claims a friend sent him a video that shows the complete story, not just the end, defended the driver’s actions.

“The elephant entered the car park whilst guests were both on foot in the open and on the walkway (fairly secure) to the hide,” the commenter stated. “The guide sat there quietly with his engine off until the elephant started to approach the vehicle. The elephant didn’t back off and kept coming closer, not responding to warning shouts and door slamming and slapping as they normally will.

“Whether or not the guide took the correct action next is not for me to say, but he took what he thought was the correct action to protect his guests and those on the car park. He started his engine and revved it, hoping the elephant would leave the car park. I understand why he did it, and hindsight is a wonderful thing. I hope the full video is released because I am sure you will all feel some compassion towards the guide and how absolutely terrified he must have been, whilst taking actions to protect others in a very difficult situation. I have no doubt that the guide and guests have been traumatized by this event and I beg for your understanding until you too have seen the full video. It makes so much more sense.”

Elephant appears atop faulty cliff, leaving onlookers ‘petrified’

Video footage shows the beloved male elephant feeding atop a vertical river bank known to crumble after heavy rains.

A beloved male elephant left safari onlookers in awe and concerned for his safety recently when he appeared at the edge of a towering river bank to forage on vegetation.

“Mabula quite literally living on the edge,” Thula Thula Private Game Reserve, located in South Africa, described via social media. “We were all petrified watching Mabula so close to the edge of the bank on the Enseleni River which often crumbles in heavy rains.”

Among the top Facebook comments was this from Yvonne Moore: “Mabula be careful… You’re treading on dangerous terrain there.”

A Thula Thula Instagram follower commented: “Couldn’t breathe watching this.”

Mabula, part of a herd of seven elephants rescued years ago, is described by Thula Thula as “our entertainer” and certainly lived up to that billing on this day.

The reserve did not respond to inquiries by FTW Outdoors but it’s presumed that Mabula ultimately retreated safely from the bank.

The footage was credited to Kim Mcleod Photography.

Efforts to herd escaped elephant back into park thwarted by angry mob

An elephant from Kruger National Park escaped into a neighboring township. Video footage shows the initial panic. Then things change.

An elephant from Kruger National Park in South Africa escaped into a neighboring township and ran wild, sending people scrambling for safety.

But not all the people fled.

Some chased the elephant and threw objects at it, and the situation worsened as officials from the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency and KNP attempted to use a helicopter to drive the elephant back into the national park.

Community members threatened MTPA officials on the ground, and police could not control the crowds, prompting the helicopter to be withdrawn, KNP’s Ike Phaahla told Lowvelder.

Sadly, the incident on Saturday in Matsulu ended in heartbreak with officials from the MTPA having to euthanize the elephant.

“The MTPA colleagues did their best, but it looks like their efforts were in vain,” Phaahla told Lowvelder.

From The South African: “The Matsulu Community Policing Forum’s Jacob Siboza told the publication that he was informed that some community members had started cutting the elephant up after the MTPA had shot it.”

Baby buffalo ‘shows elephant who’s boss’ in amusing chase

Video footage captured in Kruger National Park shows the elephant in full reverse mode to avoid a confrontation with the tiny buffalo.

On Thursday we shared footage from South Africa showing a small crab in battle posture against a wary lion.

Tiny versus mighty appears to be a theme because the accompanying footage shows a courageous baby buffalo chasing a large elephant.

The footage was shared Thursday by Kruger Sightings, in reference to Kruger National Park, along with the X description: “Baby buffalo shows the elephant who’s boss!”

As viewers can see, momma buffalo is close behind baby buffalo, obviously concerned for its safety.

The elephant, running backwards while facing baby buffalo, seems to be trying to avoid contact and trumpets its sentiment as the encounter mercifully concludes.

In the safari vehicle, a tourist is heard proudly boasting that she captured the scene on video.

Also on Thursday, we shared footage from India showing two men outside of a moving vehicle running from an angry elephant.

That footage is neither cute nor amusing, however, as it shows one of the men falling and being kicked by the elephant.

Men run for lives from angry elephant; it doesn’t end well

Footage captured in India shows two men running for their lives and one of the men falling and being kicked by the pachyderm.

A motorist in India on Wednesday captured footage showing two men running for their lives from an elephant and one of the men being kicked by the pachyderm.

The accompanying footage, which began to circulate via social media on Thursday, illustrates why it’s important to remain inside vehicles where large animals are present.

The Wayanadgram Instagram description states that the footage was captured by a man named Sawad as he and his family were en route to the resort city of Ooty.

It shows the men frantically trying to outrun the elephant while another person stayed close to them in a red car.

It was a harrowing encounter even for those in Sawad’s vehicle, as a woman is heard screaming in apparent fear for the mens’ lives.

After one of the men lost his footing and fell alongside the road, the elephant slapped him with its trunk and kicked him before ending the chase.

It was not clear why the elephant charged or if the man was seriously injured.

The clip was shared via X by Susanta Nanda of the Indian Forest Service, who remarked: “Just showing who the boss is.”

Elephant seems to thank motorist after herd safely crosses road

The footage supports the popular belief that elephants are intelligent, thoughtful creatures.

Historical vids has shared footage of a large elephant herd crossing a rain-soaked road and one of pachyderms exhibiting what appears to be a gesture of appreciation after a safe crossing.

Historical vids, which provides daily “education through memes,” did not provide video credit or a date and location of the crossing. (See the clip below.)

But the footage helps supports the popular belief that elephants are intelligent, thoughtful creatures.

The gesture – a pause after all elephants had crossed, a gaze toward the driver and a nod  – occurs at the end of the clip.

Watch: Elephant topples tree in show of ‘unparalleled strength’

Safari guests can be heard laughing in disbelief as the elephant easily uproots the tree in a South Africa game reserve.

Safari guests in South Africa watched in awe recently as an elephant uprooted and toppled a fairly large tree.

“Unparalleled strength. He made it look so easy,” Tim Prettejohn, a guide for Dulini Lodge, described via Instagram.

Prettejohn’s footage shows the elephant shoving with its head and pushing three times before the tree toppled to the ground. The safari guests can be heard laughing in disbelief.

Elephants are known to occasionally topple savanna trees in order to access their upper leaves. In fact, this type of browsing behavior is fairly common and has been described as destructive in parts of South Africa.

Dulini Lodge is within Sabi Sands Game Reserve adjacent to Kruger National Park.

Watch: ‘Satisfied’ elephant purrs like a kitten while snacking

Osh the elephant appears to be content under the care of keepers at the Oakland Zoo. So content, at times, that he purrs like a kitten.

Osh the elephant appears to be content under the care of keepers at the Oakland Zoo. So content, at times, that he purrs like a kitten.

The accompanying footage was shared via social media Sunday by the California zoo, along with the description:

“Maple & Willow aren’t the only ones with impressive purrs… here’s Osh making some sounds of satisfaction while enjoying his afternoon beet pulp snack.”

Elephant purrs are among the social animals’ many communicative skills. They also make rumbling sounds and louder trumpeting calls.

Osh was born in 1994 and the African elephant has a substantial following among zoo regulars.

Maple and Willow are mountain lions kittens that ended up at the zoo after their mother was killed last month by a vehicle strike on a Northern California highway.

Watch: ‘Compassionate’ elephant returns shoe dropped by child

Video has surfaced showing an elephant using its trunk to pick up a child’s shoe, which had fallen into its enclosure, and gently return the shoe to the child.

Video has surfaced showing an elephant using its trunk to pick up a child’s shoe, which had fallen into its enclosure, and gently return the shoe to the child.

“He is confined. But not his spirits & compassion,” Susanta Nanda described on X. “Returns the shoe of a child which accidentally fell in its enclosure.”

Nanda works for the Indian Forest Service, but the footage he obtained is from a facility in Weihai in Shandong Province, China.

Nanda added a hopeful sentiment in parenthesis: “Free wild [animals] from cages.”