This elephant wants you to respect the speed limit, please!3 min read
Reading Time: 3 minutesMwangi Kirubi was hanging out in Amboseli National Park in Kenya, clicking some pictures, when something unbelievable happened. He saw an elephant attack another photographer’s car and managed to capture all of it on camera. Just look at how she makes the SUV look like a tiny toy. You can see she means business as she flares her ears and sways her trunk from one side to another!
Owliver’s Obscure Observation: Elephants can carry up to 9000 kgs! Imagine what they could with a car that weighs about 1500 kgs.
So, what exactly happened?
Elephants are usually very calm animals and just hang out with no interest in attacking anyone. But sometimes they can be made angry. This time it was a set of two cars that came hurtling down the road, ignoring the 40 kilometers per hour speed limit of the park, that startled a mamma elephant.
You see, national parks are areas where wild animals live. While humans are allowed to come to visit, they aren’t supposed to disrupt the wild animals’ lives. Elephants don’t come and just trample our cities and homes. If they did, we would feel threatened and respond aggressively to protect ourselves and our families. So when this noisy car passed by this elephant, she immediately sprung into action to protect her children.
Kirubi reports that the cars were not only loud because of their speed, but they were also hooting and honking! To the elephant, this seemed like a threat of an enemy. Unfortunately, the car that the elephant suspected and attacked was just the parked car of a respectful photographer. The noisy cars had already buzzed off and fled the scene.
But fortunately, the photographer’s car managed to safely getaway! Eventually, the elephant mother calmed down and went back to her business. Mwangi got to take some great pictures and gathered a fun campfire story he can tell for ages. He sees this incident as a lesson to humans who must learn to always treat wild animals and nature with respect.
<<Image: Carter News Agency
Images: Carter News Agency, GIPHY
With excerpts from: Daily Mail, The Sun, Onekindplanet.org
Do you have any elephant stories? Share them with Owliver in the comments below.
