Watch a Man Do a Quick 180 When an Elephant Starts Charging Right at Him

The last thing that you want when seeing a majestic elephant herd is to have one start charging at you. These animals are large. Even though they are not predators, they can still act quite ferociously to defend themselves when they feel threatened.

Watch the Incredible Video Below!

This video begins with the man approaching the elephants slowly. He is working on his farm and trying to get to a nearby tree. The man carries a bucket and tools. He extends his arms up, trying to get the elephants to move to a different area. Elephants are herbivores and might be looking for food in this wooded area. They could also just be passing through.

One elephant has different ideas, however. Some of them begin to amble away but the last elephant in the line turns toward the man and begins to speed up. Just as he is about to start working on the tree, the man catches sight of the elephant charging and turns right around. He runs toward the person holding the camera, looking back briefly only to see just how far behind the elephant is. The elephant trumpets as he runs. This is done to communicate to the other elephants as well as to announce his presence to the perceived threat. The elephant continues charging but slows down as the man gets further away.

The short clip ends with the elephant stopping and turning back to his friends, clearly satisfied that he chased the man away. We guess the day’s work will just have to wait!

Is This Normal Elephant Behavior?

Yes and no. Elephants will charge if they feel threatened or just want to get more space. They don’t do it often and tend to let other animals get quite close before they decide to stand their ground. It happens more often to protect baby elephants. Male elephants, called bulls, will also charge at each other as a show of strength to show off. There are multiple elephants in the video so this is likely a herd. Elephant herds usually include female elephants and their calves.

Some of the comments on the video advised the person that he should have stood his ground and not backed down. Will an elephant back down if you show that you’re not afraid? This video of an elephant charging and flipping a jeep shows that’s not the case. While elephants are not usually aggressive, all bets are off when they feel threatened. If they are irritated enough to charge, chances are they’re willing to follow through on the threat. Either way, it’s not something that we’d want to find out first-hand.

You can see how this wise person decided to let the elephant have the area in the footage below. We applaud his decision to respect the space of these amazing wild creatures. He maintains control of his tools and bucket, however, and will have to come back later to finish his work.