Elephant charges safari vehicle – was it all the shrieking?

Recent footage showing an elephant charging a safari vehicle in India has raised a question about proper behavior while observing wildlife.

“If one is so afraid of seeing an elephant in a safari vehicle, why do they venture into the forest [and] yell so loudly?” Susanta Nanda of the Indian Forest Service asked this week on Twitter. “Behave as humans & be sober & humble in jungle safaris.”

The footage shared by Nanda (posted below) shows selfie-seeking tourists shrieking in what seems a mixture of fear and excitement as the elephant closes on their open-topped vehicle.

If one is so afraid of seeing an elephant in a safari vehicle, why do they venture into the forest & yell so loudly?
Behave as humans & be sober & humble in jungle safaris. pic.twitter.com/6EeLROSy94

— Susanta Nanda (@susantananda3) May 10, 2023

As the elephant gains ground one tourist keeps her phone trained on the animal, just feet away. Moments later, the elephant backs off.

Asked by FTW Outdoors if he thought the shrieking caused the elephant to charge, Nanda replied: “Yes. To a large extent the yelling was the cause of it getting irritated.”

Comments beneath the post mostly placed blame on the tourists for not knowing better, but criticism also was directed at the driver for not keeping his passengers under control.

The most popular comment, however, reads: “The elephant says, this is my area and I’m the boss here.”