How to stay safe while watching elephants in the wild

By Roxanne Reid
I’ll bet you’ve seen more than one news report about humans behaving badly around wild animals, especially elephants. Unfortunately for the humans, their transgressions are often captured on video for the rest of us to shake our heads at in disbelief. Here are some practical tips on how to stay safe while watching elephants in the wild.

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​In general, elephants are gentle giants, great mothers, and animals that enjoy social interaction and even a bit of fun when there’s water around. They don’t really want to give humans a hard time, but you have to understand how they think. Despite their enormous size, they can view you and your vehicle as a threat, which makes them jittery. And five or six tons of jitters is usually bad for an offending human.

A herd drinks from the Luvuvhu River, Kruger National Park

Essentially, if you get too close to them, or you or your vehicle make too much noise, they’re not going to be happy and will react negatively. This is how cars get trashed in national parks, how people get injured or killed.

So how can you avoid upsetting them? A little knowledge goes a long way. Here are some guidelines.

Sightings of elephants are much sought after, but treat them with respect – or else

Basic rules for watching elephants

• Keep your distance (at least 50m) and stay in your car.
• Don’t drive off the road.
• Don’t follow the elephants if they’re walking along the road.
• Always give elephants the right of way.
• When you come to a sighting ahead, slow down and don’t speed into the sighting.
• Check for escape routes before you settle down to watch them. 

Communicating at a waterhole in Addo Elephant National Park

• Be situationally aware: never position your vehicle between herd members, block their escape routes, or park across trails they use. Always check behind you too, and never cut off their path, especially if there’s more than one vehicle at a sighting.
• Drive off slowly (in reverse if necessary) if they get too near you. If they come closer than about 20m try to back off but don’t panic or make lots of noise by revving your engine. They hate that and it will just agitate them.
• Stay seated at all times with limbs, cameras, and selfie sticks inside the vehicle – it’s your safety ‘bubble’.

Elephants are wonderful mothers and big sisters to small calves

Tiny calf sheltering from the hot sun under mom’s belly

• ​Be extra wary of breeding herds, especially when they have small calves. Female elephants are protective and can become aggressive if they see you as a threat to the safety of their calves.
• Know that bulls in musth can be unpredictable and dangerous. Musth is a state of sexual tension for them and they can be aggressive. You will know one from the fact that he’s leaking fluid from the temporal gland between his eyes and ears. He may also be leaking urine onto his hind legs and the ground. Keep a safe distance so you don’t antagonise him – even more than the usual 50m.

Elephants drinking from the Chobe River, Botswana

• If you’re inexperienced, it may be best not to self-drive but rather to explore with a guide who knows elephant behaviour and how to read it. We’ve been with knowledgeable guides on open vehicles and they’ve stood their ground when elephants come closer. But they interact with elephants almost daily and can read the elephants’ mood to tell if they’re are relaxed or not. When we’re self-driving, we tend to be much more circumspect and always give the elephants lots of space. Better safe than sorry.
• Obviously, you should never be on foot around elephants or other wild animals without an experienced, armed guide – for instance on walking trails in various national parks and game reserves in Southern and East Africa.
  • Don’t make sudden movements.
  • Don’t make a noise; even turn off your camera's shutter click if you can.
  • Avoid using your camera flash.
  • Always pay attention to your guide and follow his instructions to the letter. If he raises his hand to silence you, be quiet immediately. If he gestures for you to stand still, don’t move. If he gestures for you to move back slowly, do what he says.
• Remember that the guide’s job is to read the elephant’s behaviour and to protect you without sparking a tragic human-wildlife incident. Sadly, in cases where elephants charge and injure or kill humans, they often pay with their lives so avoiding that is key. (Yes, I know some guides are women, but they’re overwhelmingly men so forgive the masculine pronouns!)

When you’re on foot in the wild, listen to your guide so he can keep you safe

Know the signs of elephant aggression 
Recognising signs of aggression in elephants gives you forewarning of when they’re unhappy in any particular situation. These can be useful indicators that you are annoying them and need to give way before things escalate. Here’s what you need to know.

• An elephant standing tall with the head and tail raised and ears spread is a warning sign that it is uncomfortable about something – possibly you.
• A rocking motion with one foot swaying back and forth is another hint you shouldn’t ignore.
• The elephant may uproot objects and throw them in your direction as a threat.

• If the elephant starts to shake its head, it’s getting really annoyed. Tossing its head up and down is also a threat display.
• Swinging the trunk, blowing and trumpeting are also signs the elephant has been disturbed. Sometimes youngsters do this just to test their (and your!) mettle, but if a full-grown elephant does it, ignore it at your peril.

Flying over a small herd in Botswana’s Okavango Delta

• An irritated elephant might mock charge you as a warning – a rapid approach for a few steps with head held high and ears spread. This is giving you fair warning to back off. If you don’t, the next step may be a full charge.
• A full charge isn’t something you want to have directed at you or your vehicle. If an attack is followed through, an elephant can kill another elephant or other animals (including humans) or wreck cars. You need to read the earlier signs I’ve mentioned above and give way or back off quietly out of the elephant’s personal space until it feels calm again.
• Remember that a charging elephant can move at about 40km/h, which is probably faster than you can reverse. You will know the real deal charge by the pinned-back ears, curled-in trunk, low head, and the silent, direct run. That’s an elephant that means business.

Sparring bulls at Rietfontein, Etosha National Park

Now go out and enjoy a safe, peaceful interaction with these amazing animals. They’re a joy to watch when they’re browsing, blowing dust and sand on themselves (for temperature control, skin protection, and defence against insects), and interacting socially with one another. I especially enjoy watching them at waterholes. They’ll all have a turn to drink and if it’s really hot, some of them might decide to take a swim, which can be hugely entertaining.

Serengeti elephants with a characteristic thorn tree

Good places to see African elephants

East Africa
Amboseli National Park, Kenya
Masai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Ruaha National Park, Tanzania
Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Tarangire National Park, Tanzania

The colour of the ‘white ghosts’ at Nebrownii comes from the white Etosha clay

​Southern Africa
Addo Elephant Park, South Africa
Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, South Africa
Kruger National Park, South Africa
Tembe Elephant Park, South Africa

Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe
Mana Pools, Zimbabwe

Chobe National Park, Botswana
Mashatu Game Reserve, Botswana
Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana

Bwabata National Park, Namibia
Etosha National Park, Namibia

​Kafue National Park, Zambia
South Luangwa National Park, Zambia

A family of wrinkly bums

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Best Botswana game reserves for a wildlife safari

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