A safari guide captured an extremely close encounter when the elephant walked into the camp’s area.
Blake Muil, 50, a professional guide from Zimbabwe, was standing next to a guest in the wild camp when the wilderness elephant came to take a look at them.
In the footage, a stunning pair of animals consciously stayed still and silenced to avoid frightening the creature that could have at.ta.cked them.
Eventually, the elephant calms down and walks away.
Blake says: “I had many feelings at the same time.”
“I was happy and excited at the same time, honored to be with this elephant that was so calm.”
A part of my job is to be able to read and interpret the signs that animals give us, in order to assess their behavior.
“I thought he might just walk off to his left or right, but when he took a few steps closer I knew we needed to remain calm and not make any quick movements.”
“He slowly walked away from me, and as he did, he gently pulled a light from the tree overhead and put it on the table next to me.”
“It was an amazing experience.”
