Watch An Elephant Family Invade A Hotel Lobby And Help Themselves To A Continental Breakfast

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Written by Angie Menjivar

Updated: November 10, 2023

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Watch a breakfast meeting get interrupted by not one but three wild elephants as they search the place for snacks. The faces of the diners say it all — they’re terrified and in awe all at once. It’s doubtful they had much of an appetite after this encounter!

Where Is Mfuwe And What Kinds Of Wildlife Live There?

Elephants crossing the Luangwa River at South Luangwa National Park, Zambia

Tourists arrive from around the world to enjoy an African safari and stay in unique accommodations where wildlife roams only feet away.

©Geoff Gallice, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons – License

Mfuwe is located in the eastern province of Zambia and serves as the primary settlement for South Luangwa National Park. Here, tourists arrive from around the world to enjoy an African safari and stay in unique accommodations where wildlife roams only feet away. In this park, there are lions, elephants, buffaloes, and leopards. There are also zebras, spotted hyenas, wild dogs, baboons, and monkeys found throughout the park. Birders can look for the 378 different bird species recorded, including cormorants, fish eagles, brown-hooded kingfishers, herons, and storks.

Are Elephants Friendly With People?

Elephants holding tails

Elephants are known for helping different species when they need a helping hand (or trunk, rather), even assisting humans.

©ElephantErik/Shutterstock.com

Elephants are recognized as a kind, intelligent species with generous tendencies. They are known for helping different species when they need a helping hand (or trunk, rather), even assisting humans. Especially when an elephant is raised in captivity, a bond is formed with the humans it regularly interacts with. They’re curious animals as well, sometimes approaching humans in a wild environment just to learn a bit more about them. They’re unpredictable, however, and can be dangerous.

Elephants Crash A Breakfast Meeting

elephant-eating-closeup

Elephants use their trunks to put food in their mouths.

©iStock.com/johan63

When the video below starts, a woman is seated to the left at a table covered with a white tablecloth. Another person is sitting at another table, their back turned to the camera since they’re trying to capture the scene just ahead as well. In the center, indoors, a giant elephant stands casually. The light is coming from behind the elephant, creating a large shadowy figure. The diners, though impressed, seem quite uncomfortable with its presence.

The camera pans to the right and another elephant joins the breakfast party. Then a third elephant arrives, except this one is much younger and smaller. The diners start murmuring as one of the elephants starts making a mess over by the beverages, clinking dishes around and dropping some. The diners start tensing up a bit and their facial expressions grow more worried as the elephant approaches their tables. One woman, wide-eyed, leans to her right as the elephant explores the table with its trunk, spilling her coffee.

The elephant walks over to the other side of the table, finds the bread basket, and starts snacking (napkins and all!). The diners keep still and quiet throughout the ordeal. A second elephant approaches and now two trunks are clinking dishes, enjoying the breakfast items laid out for the crew. When the elephants depart, the crew breathes a collective sigh of relief.


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About the Author

Angie Menjivar is a writer at A-Z-Animals primarily covering pets, wildlife, and the human spirit. She has 14 years of experience, holds a Bachelor's degree in psychology, and continues her studies into human behavior, working as a copywriter in the mental health space. She resides in North Carolina, where she's fallen in love with thunderstorms and uses them as an excuse to get extra cuddles from her three cats.

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