One of the rules of game drives is to never get out of your car. Never.
Some tourists who parked at Paul Kruger gate at Kruger National Park decided to be brave and step out of their car to snap close up shots of a group of cute elephants.
A few also wanted to capture pictures of the Paul Kruger statue. Some stayed close to their cars while some ventured into the grass.
Judging by the video shared by Edward The Guide on Twitter, the incident could have ended badly.
Hey…hey…hey….It almost ended in tears at Paul Kruger gate today!(video sent by fellow guide)😁😁😁😁😁😁 pic.twitter.com/6mTAtyurTO
— EdwardTheGuide (@EdwardthembaSa) September 20, 2021
"Hey…hey…hey….It almost ended in tears at Paul Kruger gate today!" he tweeted.
Some tourists, who were gleefully capturing content and probably so thrilled they were breaking the safari rules, were almost attacked by the elephants as they were running in the veld.
Other tourists screamed "hey, hey, hey," as though the elephants would magically stop upon hearing their shouts.
While the two tourists managed to flee, this encounter could have ended badly.
Not only could the tourists have been killed in a possible attack, but the elephants could have potentially been put down as a result.
Who knows what would have happened if it had been a predator like a lion, cheetah or leopard.
The video shows a vehicle belonging to a game reserve, but it's unclear if tourists were travelling in that vehicle.
Reactions
Twitter users were not impressed.
One user, @andisaoscar, commented: "Hooting to an elephant it’s no no." (sic)
Another, @EngDanielC, commented: "They are so careless. If you have seen how those beasts can crush the human body to a pulp you never even want to get into the reserve. Those things are so fast if they had really wanted those 2 would be dead." (sic).
The moral of the story is simple. As tempting as it may be to capture a close up shot or selfie with wild animals, you should be respectful of their environment and personal space.