Watch an Elephant Family Invade a Resort And Help Themselves to a Continental Breakfast

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A hot and fresh continental breakfast is one of the best parts of a hotel stay and the perfect way to kick off a vacation. Unfortunately, other guests can sometimes ruin your morning peace with their loud conversations and messy eating habits. But can you imagine sharing your breakfast table with an entirely different species? That’s exactly what happened to a group of tourists in Africa. In this video from the Kelly Byam YouTube channel, a group of elephants waltzed into a resort and started stealing food right off the people’s plates!

An Unusual Encounter

Dining with elephants isn’t something most of us experience every day. But in the Mfuwe province of Zambia, it’s more common than you might expect. Zambia’s elephant population is estimated to be between 3,000 to 4,000 elephants. The video above came from a resort in Mfuwe located along the South Luangwa River, a common elephant migratory route. In fact, at the Mfuwe Lodge — not too far from where this video was captured — elephants wander through the lobby frequently between October and December.

Encountering Elephants

The tourists in the video above did exactly what you should do when approached by elephants: absolutely nothing! Elephants are big fans of personal space. They don’t appreciate having theirs invaded (although they’re not exactly shy about invading ours, as the video shows). These massive mammals are incredibly sensitive, and sudden movements and noises can easily startle them. Any time a human encounters an elephant, it’s vital to move slowly and quietly to avoid scaring it. In the video, the tourists provide a great example. They remained still and silent, letting the elephants explore the dinner table undisturbed.

Reading an Elephant’s Behavioral Cues

The elephants in the video were relaxed and inquisitive, even using their trunks to explore the table settings. These are clear signs of curiosity, not aggression or defensiveness. Elephants are generally peaceful animals with slow movements. However, when facing the world’s largest land animal, it’s good to know what to watch for to tell if an elephant is tense, aggressive, or dangerous.

For example, an elephant who feels threatened — or who wants to look like a threat — will try to appear as large as possible, sometimes even standing on a large rock or anthill to look down on their opponent.

A tense or apprehensive elephant might swing one of their front feet, touch their face, or curl or twist their trunk. An aggressive elephant, in contrast, may spread its ears wide to look even bigger, shake its head, or even charge (or make a mock charge). While this is more common in male elephants, mothers, and other protective females can be quite aggressive when protecting their young.