If an angry bull elephant tilts its head back, flaps its ears and then thunders towards you, keep your cool, our guide instructs us. Don’t run, don’t hide and definitely don’t fall on your knees and pray.
Instead, stand still, look him right in the eye, hold your ground and shout at him. Shout at him? Shout at a huge, three-tonne creature coming at you full tilt in the faint hope you’ll scare him?
“Yes, that’s right,” says Hamza, a guide in Africa’s oldest, biggest and, some say, wildest wildlife reserve, the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania. “Hopefully, the elephant will be mock-charging you anyway to warn you.” Hopefully …
And if you come across a lion? It’s the same advice in the briefing before starting a three-hour early morning walk through the reserve. One of Hamza’s friends, as part of his training to be a guide, had to hike alone through the bush. He chanced upon a hungry pride and spent five hours shouting at his circling predators until they finally gave up and slunk away.
Read more from source: The most dangerous animal in Africa may surprise
