Two tourists are lucky to be alive after an African safari turned into a nightmare. A wild elephant began charging them while they were on canoes.
The incident happened back in September. The two were on canoes in Botswana's Okavango Delta. Speaking with Good Morning America, Jeff Melvin and Larry Unrein said their group came across a herd of elephants. A mother elephant charged the group after becoming defensive about her calves.
"We kept telling that they were kind of getting a little annoyed at our presence," Melvin said. "Then just in the blink of an eye, things kind of changed."
"What we did not see was the mom with the two babies," Unrein also added. "They were hidden in some tall grass, but out of sight."
Rampaging Elephant
"The first thought that came to my mind was, 'This is the end of me,' " Melvin told GMA. The elephant targeted a female tourist and knocked her into the water, pinning her under the surface. However, it quickly gave up, and the woman managed to escape certain death in the water.
Meanwhile, Melvin and Unrein managed to get to safety. Their guides helped the two escape the rampaging animal. Ron Magill, a representative for Zoo Miami, released a statement about the incident.
"That patron was incredibly lucky that this happened in the water, because generally speaking, elephants, what they do when they go after somebody, is they literally try to mash them into the ground," he said. Magill explained that elephants are extremely protective about their young.
It's important to keep your distance from the animals.
"It's important that people understand you need to respect distance," the spokesperson added. "You need to give animals distance."
"I thought for sure I was dead," Unrein said. "And then once I was safe, it was just jubilation. I was very happy to be alive."
