If you think there is nothing more frightening than coming within inches of a lion in the wilds of Africa, you have not encountered a frisky bull elephant looking for love in all the wrong places.
It was our sixth safari outing so we believed we had seen it all. My husband, John, and I were feeling comfortable nestled in our vehicle, feasting our eyes upon the beauty of the land and all of its animal inhabitants. With each subsequent leopard and lion sighting, the adrenaline eased a notch or two and we lost ourselves in the unfolding drama of survival that enveloped us.
This ease evaporated with a shock the moment we took an unexpected turn and found ourselves confronted by a towering mass of tusks and tree-trunk limbs. This bull elephant was looking for a love connection and we were not it. He redirected his amped-up mating energy towards us in the form of using us for entertainment.
Up to this point I found our elephant sightings to be equal parts fascination and tranquility-filled. Other than the occasional burst of defiance from a youngster attempting to assert their ‘dominance’ over our Land Rover, elephants kept to themselves meandering at a pace that would make a snail puff up with pride. Their deliberate movements made everything they did seem transcendent. Watching something as simple as a lift of a trunk slicing towards a leafy branch could make your breath slow as it pointed your heart towards remembering all action is meaningful if you pace it right and pay attention.
I came to know these elegantly lumbering beasts as my wisest and most true mindfulness teachers. So, to be squared off with an apparently aggressive, agitated male, my brain short-circuited in fear.
Per my usual coping ritual, I turned my attention to our tracker, Rob, and our ranger, Bruce. Observing them helped me know if the danger levels I felt were real or imagined. Rob, being on the trackers seat, may have been understandably nervous. I felt this and I respected his possible nerves. Bruce stayed calm. His steady voice called out, cutting through the air, commanding the bull’s attention.
This elephant was apparently not in the mood to listen.
The bull started to dance. One step forward, two steps back, grunting in disgust, taunting us with his size. He turned and almost brushed the back of our truck. Thankfully, John and I were towards the front, but one of our unfortunate, lone safari-mates sat hovering in that elevated third row. He leaned forward with eyes that grew to the size of dinner plates as the elephant rumbled past us.
The bull decided he was not done playing yet. He showered us with kicked up dirt. Throughout this experience, John kept encouraging me to take photos, but my arms remained locked at my sides. John managed some shots with his phone, but fear made my camera too heavy to lift.
An instant before the elephant lost interest in us, my arms and hands began to respond to my wilful intention to get a photograph. This was the only photo I was able to snap.
As the bull started to back away from us, Bruce expertly and with great care, navigated us to a safe distance.
Collectively, it took a good while until our heart rates and breathing returned to normal. We all chattered in excitement, processing through the experience. The high lasted for hours and if I am being honest, still touches my heart every time my memory revisits it.
For fear is the price of adventure.
Courage is what allows you to persevere, and if you are lucky like we were, leaves you with long-lingering exhilaration and maybe a photo or two…
We had a similar experience with the Klaubers (frequent bloggers) in Botswana. A large, frisky bull came very close to our vehicle- ears wide and trumpeting. Equal mixture of fear and excitement.
It’s the size that got me. At any moment he could have easily flipped our vehicle. I imagine that trumpeting sound is one that stays with you.
Sound definitely with us-similar to the first time we heard a lion roar nearby.
Absolutely beautiful thank you for sharing
Thank you so much for reading. I’m grateful to have written this story to make sure I never forget my fateful elephant encounter.
I can only imagine what you must have felt!! What an incredible experience and kudos for being brave and not simply hiding your head. Well done everyone including Bruce and Robert. Victoria
Thank you! I find it fascinating that even as I wrote it, I felt fear creeping up my spine. Even though I know how it ends, I have a hard time reading it, too. Bruce and Rob were/are incredible.
That was certainly a heart stopping experience you all had Diana, however, it is one that you will remember for the rest of your life. You were all fortunate that he decided to amble off and find love elsewhere. Thanks for sharing with us – I can honestly say I was holding my breath while reading this.
I have never lifted a camera so heavy in my whole life as the one I lifted that day! It took every ounce of my will power to get that one photo. It is one of my favorites. I reminds me that I can be brave when faced with the unexpected. Hopefully this will carry me well through the coming New Year. Happy New Year to you, too!
I love how you share the process one goes through on safari-from the initial anxiousness to settling into nature’s rhythm and beauty and then these moments of exhilaration (and slight fear). Brings me right back to my seat in the Rover.
I’m hoping it is helpful to others considering a safari adventure. It is amazing how quickly we acclimate and can relax into the beauty of it. We are able to do this and hold the possibility of the unexpected. The calm we experience is like breathing in life itself; the twists and turns are what keep us fully engaged. It is a truly beautiful process. Thank you for reading.
Any close up encounter with an elephant can be exhilarating or terrifying, depending on the circumstances. Reading your blog, you experienced the latter, although bull elephants are generally more bluff than action. Through your blog I could feel your angst, but you were wise to look to your guide and tracker for assurance. Your image of the bull throwing dust was terrific. At least he was far enough away to capture the shot. My closest encounter was a female new mother, looking after her days old baby, when she approached the Landy, thrusting her trunk into my lens- needless to say, I missed that photo!! but as she moved away, I was in awe of her actual gentleness. After all, she was in protection mode.
I hope you have many more experiences enjoying the exhilaration one feels, touched with a punch of natural apprehension, in viewing the wonders of the African veld.
I love that you could easily find the mother elephant’s gentleness. After having some space from the experience, in my head I know our bull elephant was just playing around with us. But in that moment, it felt exactly the opposite. That’s why the bushveld is magic. Equal parts wonder/beauty/fear.
Diana, what horrible experience. I was in Kenya when an elephant charged us, and knocked of my hat, it was a harrowing experience, just as I am sure yours was!
I can’t believe you lost your hat! Thankfully, ours never charged but he always made sure to let us know he was the one in charge of the situation.
I had 3 close encounters similar to this on my southern African safari in 2016: 1 in Botswana’s Okavango, another in The Linyati, and one at Londolozi. The Londolozi bull in musth was using his trunk to tear off high branches in a red hue near sunset as we watched from the vehicle nearby. After five to ten minutes of eating, scratching itself on the trunk, it decided to leave the tree as our guide immediately started the engine…..good idea because the Ellie took one……..two……walking steps before breaking into a faster mock charge straight at our vehicle which was already picking up rpm’s. Looking back beyond the back seat was not unlike Sam Neill in Jurassic Park looking into a rear view mirror labeled “Objects are closer than they appear” as the T-Rex giving Chase bore down on his vehicle from behind. The speed with which the elephant closed the distance from tree to vehicle aided by its huge strides was a firsthand lesson in what my chances would be in terms of time available to “climb a tree” as all the books advise in such a situation. I give people the line you used early in your article all the time: that it’s not the lions and leopards I’m worried about when on foot, but the elephants and the poisonous snakes. But don’t let such statements scare you away from a safari. Like the author stated, watch your guide. If there not nervous neither need you be. As an example of a more nervous guide, I offer a brief description of the first elephant charge in the Okavango. As is typical, several vehicles joined for our evening sundowner and we had all exited the vehicles and snacks per usual. I had walked 20 meters away and had picked up the sounds of breaking sticks coming from a palm forest 75 meters behind us. This went on for 15 minutes. I reported the sounds to the guides, but the sundowner continued. Suddenly the tusked head of pachyderm broke through some trees no more than 20 meters away from our position. When I looked at the guides, they immediately grabbed the sundowner table and bolted for the jeeps. In such situations, words need not be spoken. Instinctively, my legs had also picked up haste as I ran and jump-climbed up, over, and into our jeep as the posturing pachyderm shook it’s giant head and trumpeted the end to our sundowner. Once in the jeeps, we remained parked watching the display as I noted the guide’s fingers were on the keys in the transmission readying a great escape should it be necessary. In this case it wasn’t and after two or three minutes we allowed our cooler heads to prevail and in the siding driving away.
Wow! You’ve had some incredible moments with the elephants. Thank you for sharing your encounters in such awesome detail. It put me right there with you. As always, the guides are what get us through these situations so we can live to adventure another day.
What a great article! It really brought me into the moment and reminded me that for me, being immersed in the experience of the moment is more transcending then stopping to take a photo to share later. Meeting up with a musth bull is not on my bucket list, however hearing about it was exciting enough! Thank you!
You are so right. Being immersed in the moment-to-moment unfolding is often more powerful than taking pictures of it. Thank you for reading and for your thoughtful perspective.
Diana, Thanks for sharing your amazing experience! We had a similar connection with a Bull Elephant at Londolozi a few years ago while riding with Byron. The lumbering giant decided to sniff Terri up and down while standing next to our vehicle! No photos were taken that time for sure! We think it was curiosity in our encounter – or maybe Terri’s perfume!
That’s not something I ever thought of. I certainly won’t be wearing any perfume on my future safaris (fingers crossed these happen)! Hard to describe the mixture of fear and exhilaration so I’m grateful you understand from personal experience.
One hears of the dangers of an agitated, hormone driven elephant, but being right next to one is an entirely different experience! I’m so glad you and your husband had this experience, especially since it turned out positively. The one I felt sorry for was hiding in the back row of the rover. Your one image tells it all….so close! Many thanks for sharing your adventure with us.
Yes! Our high-seated safari-mate about lost his marbles as the bull rushed past us (we all did). I was so thankful we were in the front. I may have fainted otherwise! Thank you for reading.
Love, love. love this story Diana! I also felt like I was right there with you while I was reading. While we were on safari our rangers had spotted bull elephants who were looking to mate and we traveled several miles out of our intended path to avoid them, so I can imagine your predicament! Thank you for sharing!
It was just the luck of the draw, one random turn and ‘boom’, we were right in his path with no easy exit. Thank you for your kind words. Here’s to many more adventures to come!
Wow, what a memorable sighting! A once in a lifetime! Congratulations!