Elephant Swipes at Photographer: “Most Incredible and Scary Experience of My Life”

Wildlife photographer Shane Wolf got the fright of his life when this elephant crashed into him during a safari visit to Zimbabwe last year.

Writing on his Instagram page – @wolfography – Shane said: “My #1 experience from 2015 is none other than my close encounter with an elephant in Mana Pools Zimbabwe. These animals are among my favourites, and I respect that I was in their home… It was most definitely the most incredible and scary experience of my life.

“This bull elephant decided to nudge me to the side while we were eating our lunch. Luckily nobody was significantly injured and we can go back to continue and support the conservation of these magnificent animals. #respect.”

According to his companion who uploaded the video to YouTube, the elephant was eating pods off the ground, and they were told to “stay very still”.

The uploader stressed that the elephant was eating from a pod that had fallen from the tree, and that “nobody was feeding the elephant and nobody threw anything”.

Explaining the ‘attack’, he said: “The elephant which had poor eyesight was startled when it walked upon us. It then swung its trunk and head and hit Shane and Stephen.

“We respected the elephant’s territory and this is their HOME. We love these amazing animals and support African tourism. We were lucky to walk away from this…”

Watch: Zimbabwe bull elephant crashes into tourists at Mana Pools

If your device cannot view the video above, try this one:

https://www.instagram.com/p/_9wvumQwVF/?taken-by=wolfography