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Jane

Jane is an avid birder and nature enthusiast, whose deep love for travel, camping and exploring the natural world knows no bounds. Assisted by her nature-loving husband, Rob, a skilled photographer, they form a dynamic duo dedicated to visiting remote and breathtaking landscapes. With their camera lenses as their creative instruments, they capture the beauty of birds and wildlife, all while advocating tirelessly for conservation.

8 Responses

  1. blank Bobbi says:

    I saw the video and was amazed at how many times the elephant warned them, even stepping off to the side of the road… I was afraid it was the elephant who would pay the price for their stupidity, but I’m still sorry to hear it.

    • Yes Bobbi, they were given ample opportunity to move on. Perhaps because they were foreigners they didn’t understand the signals or the situation they were in. Unfortunately is cost the elephant its life. How sad.

      • blank Chris Card says:

        I too have seen people do unforgivable things close to elephants, but there is more to this story than your text suggests.

        The girl was driving the hire car and her S African fiancee, who usually drove, was passenger. In trying to back away from the elephant, she selected first gear instead of reverse and, inadvertently, moved towards the animal, further annoying it. Her fiancee found reverse for her and she attempted to turn the car round, panicked, and stalled the engine while side on to the elephant, which by now was at the car. We know what happened after that.

        The S Africans who filmed the event then left the scene and did not return to help in any way. The bit of video footage that they put on YouTube was heavily edited and did not tell the whole story. It was some time before another car came by. The girl was badly gored had a fractured pelvis and was lucky to survive. They were told later that the elephant had an infected wound from a previous fight, so was especially touchy.

        It seems that it was more a case of inexperience, bad luck, and a chain of unfortunate events, rather than the tourists being thoughtlessly provocative. Unfortunately these things do happen from time to time and sometimes you unexpectedly meet an angry elephant.

        Chris Card
        UK & Windhoek, Namibia.

        • Thanks Chris for your explanation. Its good to know the real story. We are in Kruger now and have seen a number of folks driving too close to Ellie’s and scaring babies.
          I must say that the video has now made us even more cautious around them.
          I hope you and Liz are enjoying some quality time in Africa. If not, come back soon.

          • blank Chris Card says:

            Enjoy your time in Kruger – we are in the sodden UK, but get back to Nam on 26th March.
            You and I know that if you watch the elephant’s body language it will normally tell you how you should act, but I guess that not many tourists understand that. Sometimes, however, elephants don’t give you any warning, so you must always be careful. Above all else, you shouldn’t surprise them.
            As you know, at Puros camp, the toilets are hidden inside large clumps of salvadora. One afternoon, Liz came out of the toilet just as a cow elephant came round the end of the bush, about 20m away. It got a surprise and immediately charged. Liz just made it back into the toilet to hide and the elephant skidded to a halt a couple of metres away. We didn’t know the elephants had come into camp and the cow had a calf on the other side of the bush. Later that year, an Italian tourist was killed, also while in Puros camp, when he ran round a bush and into the path of an elephant. Quite likely the same animal that charged Liz and, sadly, it had to be shot.
            The moral is, walk, don’t run through the bush, and let the elephant know that you’re there before coming too close to it.

            Chris

  2. I’m always amazed how few of these incidents occur. Spend one day in a National Park anywhere in Africa and you’ll see some shocking behavior.

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