Tourists visiting zoos or venturing into forests on safari trips are always advised to keep a safe distance between them and the animals. It is very difficult to judge an animal’s instincts as their emotions become extremely volatile in the presence of over enthusiastic human beings.
One particular high school student from Pennsylvania, United States learned this lesson the hard way when she visited the country of Zambia in Africa.
The student, along with her friends, was admiring an elephant kept in some sort of an enclosure. Eager to make the most of this opportunity, the girl went a little too close to the beast trying to capture a good photograph. The elephant appeared seemingly irritated by the girl’s enthusiasm and slapped her on the face, knocking the poor girl to the ground.
“I felt like 10 people had punched me at once as I was catapulted backward and my phone flew forward to the ground,” she was quoted as saying.
When in Zambia….don’t stand too close!!#phoneenvy #elephants #MissionZ2019 #viralvideo pic.twitter.com/HybhmYe6Vn
— Ernie Ley (@FritoCorn1) June 28, 2019
A video of the episode was posted on social media and has garnered over 16 million views.
This incident is a reminder how dangerous animals can be even when confined.
PNN