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Journalism of Courage
A jungle safari can be truly fascinating for wildlife lovers. From finding footprints to spotting animals, umpteen thrilling experiences await them. Every once in a while, however, a safari may also turn terrifying if a giant beast decides to charge towards your vehicle in fury. A video that has captured one such incident has surfaced online and is enough to send chills down your spine.
The clip shows a furious tusker running towards a safari vehicle, dangerously close, while trumpeting out loud. As it nearly hits the jeep a few times, the driver – with an admirable presence of mind – is seen swiftly moving the vehicle in reverse gear for what appears to be a few hundred feet, that too without losing his cool, as the elephant’s head looms right in front. After a few nerve-wracking moments, the beast halts and turns to one side before walking away into the wilderness while the tourists in the vehicle heave a sigh of relief.
The clip was shared by IAS officer Supriya Sahu on Thursday with the caption: “I am told this is in Kabini ! Hats off to the driver 🫡 deft handling of the situation with a cool mind is commendable. Source- shared by a friend.”
The 32-second clip has amassed more than 2.5 lakh views on Twitter so far and has left netizens dumbfounded, even as many appreciated the driver’s efforts.
Some users also raised concerns over human-animal conflict. A user commented, “Encroaching the territory of the animals will always lead to such situations which can be fatal. Why can’t they be left in peace as they don’t encroach the humans territory but we do always. The animals are always friendly with the tribal population who know their limits.” Another user wrote, “He controlled the speed enough to tire the elephant out. He didn’t accelerate as he will loose control. Shows great experience and presence of mind.”
In May this year, a similar video that did the rounds on social media showed an elephant charging towards a bus while passengers were heard screaming. In that instance too, the driver moved the bus deftly in reverse gear till the elephant turned away, leaving them unharmed.
