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A frightening video shared online shows a mother elephant charging at a group of tourists who came too close to its babies in the wetlands of Botswana before nearly drowning one woman.
The group, which was comprised of Americans and Brits, was participating in a safari canoe tour when their boat came too close to the young elephants on Saturday (September 27), at which point the mother elephant became enraged, the Telegraph reported. Footage recorded by other safari-goers and shared by the outlet shows the mother elephant pivot on the group as they began to wade closer to the babies.
The tour guides frantically tried to back-pedal the mokoro canoes, however, the elephant was already charging, knocking its trunk against the two closest boats, forcing the tourists to go overboard.
The elephant was walking away when it trampled the one woman who was attempting to wade through the water to evade it. The woman was briefly held underwater by the massive mammal's trunk in the footage.
The elephant then wandered back over to its herd when it seemed to be satisfied with its actions. The woman was reported to be rattled, but not injured during the incident.
“She was incredibly lucky. Had the elephant held her down for a few more seconds, or gored her with its tusks, the outcome would likely have been fatal,” said a former South African game ranger to the Daily Mail after reviewing the footage.