In a dramatic video a canoe tour group in Botswana’s Okavango Delta was charged by an angry elephant, with one tourist held underwater by the elephant’s truck. Now, tourists are sharing their stories with more footage of the close encounter.
New footage of dramatic elephant charge on canoe tour surfaces as survivors share their stories
In the new footage, the elephant is seen charging the cameraman’s canoe and flips it with his trunk. Lifejackets (PFDs) are seen scattered in the water. From here, the elephant continues to charge as the camera dips in and out of the murky waters.
“The first thought that came to my mind was ‘this is the end of me,’” Jeff Melvin, a participant on the canoe safari, told ABC News. “We could tell that they were getting a little annoyed at our presence and then just in the blink of an eye things kind of changed.”
“What we did not see was the mom with the two babies,” Jeff Unrein, another canoe safari participant travelling with Melvin shared with ABC News. “They were hidden in some tall grass but out of sight.”
The new tourist footage also shows a different angle of the woman held underwater by the elephant.
“That patron was incredibly lucky that this happened in the water,” Ron Magill, Zoo Miami, told ABC News, adding that elephants literally try to mash people into the ground in an attack and the water likely cushioned her.
Magill also explained that there is little more dangerous in the wild than an elephant mother with young calves.
Elephant charges canoe tour group in Botswana. Feature Image: ABC 11 | Larry Unrein @salmonmoose
