Allways stay peacefull and calm near elephants
Here a circus every year has their elephants promenade, but one of them got scared, by people, firecrackers or cars ?
Anyway see how strong she is.
I guess his car insurance company will doubt it, when he reports that his car was tossed around by an elephant
View attachment 664809
Wow. Amazing video.
You can't say that enough. With regards to the photo I posted, I was showing an old friend around my second country and well, due to certain insights and influences, can't say I actually "talk with animals" but have been able to master this routine with about 75% of the wild animals "Hey, I see you, I recognize you and I'm cool with you where you are. I'm giving you the chance to respond and let me know if you're cool with me - where I am." That and "Hello, I see you greet you and respect your wish and desire to be left alone." Basically, how not to get killed around many wild animals. That said, das ist verboten to get out of the car in the national parks. In fact, in South Africa (where I am not), there are several lionesses who have figured out how to open car doors. But to your point - it doesn't matter if you're inside a car if an elephant or rhino gets pissed off at you or in general. You're inside the car and that car is gonna get tossed.
Since I can't resist a story, the backstory to my photo this is one of those National Geographic or Wild Kingdom moments you wish for as a kid. I'd taunted/tempted an old friend to visit and we were switching off on driving through the park. This park that is 8,500+ square miles - 4 TIMES the size of Delaware. The only fences are around the perimeter. You don't get out of your car to pee. I'd let my friend drive and we were passing by this grazing herd on the right of the road where I counted between 9 and 11 elephants. Then as we drove slowly, one moved into the road and gestured in our direction - something that almost all people wouldn't see or pick up on. In response, I immediately blurted out to my friend, "
DON'T MOVE FORWARD. In fact, turn off the car,
NOW and keep your foot on the brake.
Let me do something." As soon as he turned off the ignition, I lowered the window, got the elephant's gaze and responded with a certain pattern of blinks and nods and waited for her response. Finally, I mimicked a trunk with my hand, making a greeting gesture, then blinked again and closed my eyes - counted to 5 - and then opened them. She still had her gaze on me, but her ears were flat back against her head and her trunk was 1/2 way curled upwards. This was my attempt at "I see you, I respect you, I greet you and I trust you. I understand that you wish to protect your family and let them cross safely. I am taking the effort to let you know I recognize your wishes and you have no objection from us. Also, I trust that you will not kill me and I am letting you know that I do not view you as a threat." All of that, really. The eye closing is something you ONLY DO to let another know that "I trust you and am closing my eyes to show you that." Then you glance back at the other animal and await a response but for no more than 2 seconds. Sometimes no response is the response. Anyway, she moves off to the middle of the road, I raise the window and the two of us fumble with our cameras and lenses as the whole herd passes in front of us, their mom being their crossing guard. About 1/2 way through the crossing, this white VW pickup pulls up on the other side of the road facing us. The herd was closest to them and mom to us. Like a bunch of idiots, they kept their car running and after a while pulled up about a foot before stopping. Mom saw this and with no hesitation walked over to the pickup. Here, passengers are on the left and this guy had the window open. Mom moved up right next to the passenger's open window and lowered her head, her trunk less than a toot away from him. In our car, we are not believing what we are seeing and not knowing what will happen until I yell out, "We gotta be fliming this!" Quickly, I grabbed my phone and was able to get some video. But whils that was happening, she dwelled next to the passenger for a while but did not reach out to harm him, just put the fear of elephant into him. Then she turned, facing the back of the pickup and walked to the back. As she did so, she leaned in to the pickup and when reaching the end of it, gave it a big shove, moving it about 6 inches to a foot to the left. By that time, her family had crossed and the driver of the pickup slowly drove away, hopefully aware that they had just escaped with their lives. I didn't get it all, but got a lot of it and do have that end part of the video. My friend has lots of shots too. Just a little morning out of the city in one of the most interesting places on Earth.
Mental note: Sometimes it's wise to learn basic elephant communication. You know, just in case. Also works with lions, cheetahs, leopards. Wild dogs will look at you like you're an idiot for even trying. Baboons are largely bastards. But still, they all are listening, just not just with their ears. Back to photos. Hope you enjoyed.