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Just love your description alleycat

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This is one of the nice things about driving a motorhome - it is bigger than an ellie and they always retreat quickly when you approach.
If only they knew how flimsy it really is!!

I see your pic is in Flickr To see it here have a look at it in your photostream and see the "button" above that says SHARE drop it down and copy the gobbleygook to your post (BBCode)That should do it
Great pic

Tears running down my cheeks from a good laugh.
Jokes aside, we have also had some hairy experiences with ellies - I normally admire my eyelids or check out my toe nails

I had quite a giggle when I saw this thread...that feeling of "got to get out of the way now!" just comes back to me so clearly This lady charges us last year in Kruger on the S65. She was eating just off the side of the road, next thing she turned to us (still about 20m from us) started to flap her ears and throw sand with her trunk, obviously not impressed with our presence! We did a reverse of about 40 m back down the hill Well, I can laugh now, but it was pretty scary then. This is my first attemp at adding a photo so I hope it works. Can't remember even taking it...

Lots of other interesting and stories and good advice Here

Use your ZOOM lens to diminish his size!!!!
In Etosha I decided to photograph an approaching large bull elephant but make him small against a background of looming clouds. I zoomed out with my 16-35mm lens. I could hear my wife spluttering, as the distant elephant approached. I took my last shot, and put the camera down to find the elephant looming outside my drivers window. He eyed me as he gently pawed the ground. I sat very still and he went on his way! I now know how powerful that zoom effect is.

The day before we watched a bull elephant drinking with his back to us. We parked 40 meters further on well away from the elephant's well worn path leading back from Fischer's pan to Klein Okevi waterhole. As we had hoped, he turned and trod his path, but at the road did'nt cross over but turned right to come closer and closer right behind us. We saw the tusks through the rear view mirror and then the rear window!!. Suddenly the car bounced three times as he repeatedly pushed down on our roof rack. We just sat. After a few tense moments, he seemingly was satisfied with our shock absorbers and springs, because he then left us and went on to Klein Okevi. Phew.

What to do with elephants? The advice given on this forum by the two open topics is excellent.

It is sometimes very difficult to reverse back e.g. towing a trailer, cars behind you, or very narrow path. You of course can never predict the strange and dangerous behaviour of some fellow tourists. We had a bus charge a large bull at Newbrowni waterhole in Etosha for a laugh!. The driver didnt see we were right next to him Be extra cautious with some elephants. Assess if they are in musth (Hindi word for mischievious): secretion from temporal gland between eye and ear associated with dribbled urine staining back legs. Also be careful not to seperate mother and calf.

We follow the advice in the excellent animal behaviour book "Beat about the Bush" by Trevor Carnaby (Jacana Press):- We pull over to give the elephant room to pass, turn off engine and airconditioner, close windows, and wait. Carnaby states if your airco carries on buy another car! I will now add the excellent advice gleaned from these superforum discussions to our procedure count down: turn off the lights and for smokers dont!
This patient approach has worked for us up till now with bulls passing gently inches from or scared ghostly white Landcruiser. I do keep forgetting what the characteristics are of a mock or real charge!. I suppose there will be no time to check if the latter happens.

Exbrakpanite, I swear those Etosha elephants make me more nervous You are right too; some people freak out and make things dangerous for everyone. We were at a waterhole near Halali in Etosha when ourselves and about 3 other cars ended up pulled up one behind the other on a loop track because there were a few big ellies up ahead loitering about on the road, slowly making their way to the water. Everyone in the cars had stopped and turned the car off. We were second in the line and a few cows came out of the bush to the left and started to cross the track in front of the cars quite close. It was no bother they were relaxed but the last cow and the biggest took her time and stopped in the middle of the track not far from the first car. (There were no babies or juveniles in the group of ellies) Right at that worst moment the first car panicked and started their car and tried to reverse which annoyed the cow! The driver was gesticulating to us to go backwards but we couldn't and wouldn't because no one else behind us was moving! If they just sat quietly she would have gone on her way. As it was, luckily, she shook her head a couple of times, turned to face the cars as if deciding what to do, but then moved on.
And if an ellie tested out my car shocks I think the my shocks would give way

I have been to THAT reserve in the country to the north of us (Capetonians) in the rainy season and seen 1 ele in 4 days, 500 metres away. They disperse after the rains, looking for the best water.

In the dry season they are nearer the pan. I didn't have any ele problems there, but in Bots........

I tend not to be afraid of ellies, but I do respect them.

I have never had a problem with bull ellies, but I have had a couple of encounters with "big mamas".


Once when with my daughter, a car in front of us got far too close and familiar with a breeding herd. They drove off, cameras and heads out of the window having obtained their ellie shots.

Big mama decided enough was enough and came to clear the road only, I was in the firing line. My daughter remined me that attack was unlikely if you were not seen as a threat.

I moved as close to the side of the road as possible and switched off my engine. Big mama gave a mock charge and turned away in disgust. Maybe the smell from my car

Here I was photographing a breeding herd close to Kanniedood.

Next thing:



big mama was giving me the eye. They are so silent, I had failed to notice her behind the tree. I don't know who got the biggest fright.

We both made a noise

mine different to hers.

This was one of those ultra stupid moments.

If you look at the small car behind this massive bull ellie, it is the car that holds the man, that holds the camera.. that climbed out to get a closer pic.



Thank goodness he was not an aggresive ellie.

Just to let you know I will be moving this topic over to the Topic I have linked in a day or 2 so you can carry on chatting in there.

Ah, the Kanniedood road, I had a bit of a 'moment' there with a breeding herd a couple of years ago and we weren't even close SO says it is because I am a control freak and if I am not driving I don't trust anyone else's elephant negotiation strategy.
He's RIGHT

An encounter this morning made me retreat. I was travelling home on the S25, when I came round a corner and face to face with a large bull walking in the road. We both got a surprise! I gave him space and reversed just a little to the side furtherest from him. He stopped and then began to move on again but even more to the side of the road. But then he seemed to think again and turned to face me and began to show aggression. Rather than begin a reversing chase scenario, I simply turned round and took a detour via the S119 meeting more ellies, but much more friendly ones!

Had a convenient detour not been available I would have still turned round, but then sat for 10 or 15 minutes a km or two further down the road and then slowly moved forward again. Usually by then the ellie has moved off and all is OK and no further aggro has been provoked.

Oooh this does remind me of our first trip to the park in 1999, we were young and naive and driving along a road near Skukuza we encountered a bull elephant. He was stood bang in the middle of the road facing us about 20m away. Well Mr Spaghetti (who was driving) got his camera out and started to take photos as the ele strode toward us, ears akimbo and trunk waving around - meanwhile I was in passenger seat of the hire car and prodding Mr Spaghetti to reverse quick.

Of course as Mr Spag was looking through the viewfinder of the camera, the ele actually looked further away so he didn't panic, until he put the camera down and realised that we were indeed now close to the point of being uncomfortable so he took the handbrake off and put his foot on the accelerator....only to find that he wasn't in reverse at all (as he had thought) - but in "drive" so we we going even closer!

I have never seen his face drain of colour quite as quickly as Mr Spag panicked in the hire car, found reverse and got away as soon as possible - poor ele looked most bemused and wandered off into the bush. After that we developed a more respectful distance from eles and Mr Spag is banned from taking photos when driving ever again

Hi All,

WOW! If i had a Rand for every time an elephant charged me, i could afford to spend all year in the park!

The most recent and worst charge i have had came on the 6th December 2011. We had done a fantastic early morning drive from Satara heading to Tshokwane for a breakfast. We were still a little early for breakfast (6:25am) and so I decided to take the S33 dirt loop road to Tshokwane.

As we had driven about 5km along the S33 we went down and up a river bead and rounded a corner only to see a massive Bull 70m further up the road. The bush is very high and constricts the road to such an extent there would be no safe way to pass the bull and so I decided to wait until he moved away into the bush.

Suddenly with no warning the Bull turned around and start charging at full speed. I have had many mock charges in the past and this certainly was not one of them. The bull had his trunk locked under his head and ears pressed flat against his body. I could not turn the car around due to lack of space with the bush and so had to reverse away while the bull was catching us.

The real problem came as I realised we would not easily be able to reverse up the riverbank and I had to make a quick decision, so with the bull 30m away I swung my car into the bush (crushing a small tree and scratching the whole car!) and shot off in first with the bull about 5m away!

My girlfriend and I ended up getting safely away and went straight back to satara for an early morning shot of whisky! It was only during sitting down that I realised my girlfriend had managed to get a photo of the bull from the side just before he charged. When zooming in, one can clearly see that the bull was in musth. I am just happy that we did not go any closer to the bull!