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Millions of people head to Africa each year to go on safaris that allow them to get a glimpse of the many animals that call the continent home. However, some tourists in Botswana got a bit too up close and personal with a protective elephant that caused a pretty terrifying scene after targeting the canoe they were on.
There are a number of animals you can only spot in the wild if you make the trek to Africa, including giraffes, zebras, and gorillas. The continent is also home to other majestic beasts most people associate with its sprawling savannahs, like lions, rhinos, and elephants.
Many of the countries those animals call home rely on them to stimulate the economy by luring in tourists who sign up for safari trips in the hopes of getting to see them in their natural habitat.
There are obviously some risks that come with excursions that revolve around coming in close proximity to wild animals, and while most of the people who operate those tours take precautions to minimize the chances of things going south, there’s only so much you can do.
That’s especially true when you find yourself targeted by the heaviest land mammal on the planet—a lesson that some tourists recently learned the hard way courtesy of an elephant that was responsible for a wildly chaotic scene captured on camera.
Tourists in Botswana had a scary encounter with an elephant that targeted a canoe they were riding in
Elephants are responsible for claiming the lives of around 500 people between Africa and Asia each year (hippos, a fellow pachyderm, boasts a similar estimated kill count), and you’re largely powerless to defend yourself if you end up in the path of the animals that can weigh up to 13,000 pounds.
If you need proof, you don’t have to look any further than a video that was recently captured in Botswana during an excursion where tourists were using traditional dugout mokoro canoes to tour the Okavango Delta.
According to The Times, the boats ended up in the vicinity of a female elephant with a couple of calves that did not take kindly to their presence. The people piloting the boats were unable to retreat in time to prevent her from charging at them, and the tourists who were blissfully filming the encounter just seconds before were knocked into the water (including one who was rammed back underneath the surface).
Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt, and while some cameras and phones were ruined after ending up in the drink, that’s a small price to pay based on what could have transpired.