This One Sound Terrifies Elephants. Here’s How It Could Save Your Life.

There are many instances on social media showing people being chased by wild elephants. In one viral video, two men run down a road with an elephant in close pursuit. The men are running as fast as they can with the elephant close behind until one man falls to the ground. The elephant stops running and heads over to investigate the fallen man. Although it’s hard to tell from the video, it appears the man crawls to safety among the trees while the elephant loses interest.

What’s going on in this video? What could provoke a wild elephant to attack a human? Once it was too late and the elephant began to pursue the men, did they do the right thing by running, or was there a better strategy to avoid harm? Let’s look at what to do if you ever find yourself in this situation, but more importantly, how to avoid it in the first place.

Where in the World Do Elephants and Humans Interact?

Elephants live in a variety of habitats and can be found in the wild in Africa and Asia. Scientists estimate there are around 470,000 African elephants and between 40,000 to 50,000 Asian elephants. While humans and elephants have lived alongside each other throughout history, in recent years, human growth expansion has infringed on elephants’ home ranges.

Elephants roam about 30 miles per day and need a lot of space daily to search for water and food. Problems occur when humans and elephants interact due to elephants’ home ranges being broken up by human expansion. A herd of elephants may have to pass through farms, cities, roads, or mining areas to maintain its daily range. Elephants may find themselves foraging for food in a farmer’s field, not understanding they are now eating and destroying a farmer’s carefully planted crops. They can destroy a field in one day, affecting a small farmer’s livelihood. And when farmers retaliate, elephants can end up harmed or killed.

Are Elephants Dangerous to Humans?

Although elephants are generally peaceful, they will defend themselves and their young when threatened. Asian elephants may weigh 6,000 to 12,000 pounds while African elephants can weigh up to 14,000 pounds. Between their massive size and powerful tusks, an elephant could kill a person with one hit. It’s estimated around 500 people die per year from elephant encounters.

What Would Cause an Elephant to Charge a Human?

Elephants may attack humans when they feel threatened. To avoid a dangerous elephant encounter, people should keep a proper space between them. What this distance should be varies among animal experts. One African safari guide recommends keeping a distance of 260 to 330 feet from a herd of elephants. They recommend assessing the temperament of the herd and letting the elephants decide if they want to get closer to you.

If you notice the elephants are uneasy, slowly back away. Never rush up to an elephant or block them with your vehicle. Don’t drive up behind elephants or get in the middle of the herd. Don’t yell, shout, or make sudden movements when around them. Elephants may interpret loud noises or sudden movements as a threat.

Signs an Elephant Is About to Attack

Wildlife experts say to watch elephant behavior and be wary if an elephant is growing agitated. Before an attack, elephants may stomp the ground, trumpet, shake their head, or hold their tail up. If you see these signs, back up slowly, trying to increase the distance between you and the elephant.

What to Do if You Find Yourself Chased by an Elephant

If all else fails and an elephant attacks, what should you do? Wildlife experts say the number one thing not to do is to run. Unlike the men in the viral video, don’t engage the elephants in a chase. Elephants can run around 25 miles per hour and can easily overtake a human. If you run, the elephant will very likely run after you.

Don’t make eye contact, find cover if you can, and most importantly, try to remain calm. If you are panicked, the elephant is more likely to see you as a threat. No matter how hard it is, try to stay calm, breathe deeply, and keep your movements slow. The elephant will likely calm down as well and see you are not a threat.

If an elephant charges you and seems to not be backing down, and you feel your only choice is to run, wildlife experts recommend running in a zigzag pattern. Because of their massive size, elephants can’t change direction as quickly as you can. Try to put something big between yourself and the elephant. However, don’t think you can find safety by climbing a tree. An elephant will easily knock it down.

Conservation Efforts Being Made to Keep Elephants and Humans From Having Dangerous Encounters

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), there are ways humans can deter elephants from destroying agriculture and entering human areas without conflict. Some of their strategies include helping farmers learn new practices to discourage elephants from entering their fields, such as planting crops that elephants don’t like on the outskirts of the other crops or switching completely to crops that elephants don’t like. Other strategies involve restoring elephant home range corridors so that they can bypass areas with humans and avoid encounters.

Elephants Are Terrified of Bees

Finally, another way of deterring elephants is to keep a recording of bee sounds and playing them if you are threatened by elephants. Researchers have found that elephants are terrified of bees. Buzzing sounds will cause a herd to flee an area within seconds. In fact, when sound boxes of buzzing bees are placed around African farms, the elephants stay far away, making this an effective deterrent for farmers.