No one expects an elephant to greet them in their backyard in the morning. And yet, that happened to the woman in this video.
It started out as just another regular morning, with this woman going into her backyard to take in the view, but then the elephant appeared, and it was clear that this morning was anything but ordinary.
As this video, which you can watch by clicking here, shows, this woman was not expecting this gorgeous elephant to be hanging out at her poolside when she opened her back door. You can hear the pleasant surprise in her voice when she greets this magnificent creature as they drink pool water by the trunk-load.
The elephant really seemed to enjoy their “pool time,” judging by the way their big old ears happily flapped back and forth as they continuously drank from the pool.
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Unsurprisingly, the Internet was just as taken aback by this elephant’s surprise visit as this woman was. Instagram user becenhoch was practically gushing through her keyboard when she wrote, “Oh my gosh! So cool! He’s like, I’m just here to taste your pool water!”
While Instagram user ely8203 remarked, “How amazing to wake up like this every morning!” And some people wanted to know where this woman lives that she got to experience this incredible sight.
According to Instagram user kristy_leiigh_, she recorded this video at Sabi Sands Earth Lodge in South Africa.
Elephant Sightings Are Common Here
According to the Sabi Sands website, the Earth Lodge is built into the side of a sunken hill, and many beautiful African creatures can be seen near the property.
Reviews on their website mentioned stunning encounters with an “elephant grazing by the pool” in the afternoon, as well as seeing one on the lodge’s hillside roof, too.
So, this may not be this woman’s home, but it appears that it is not too far from this elephant’s grazing area, which is just as cool. It’s hard to imagine a better surprise in the morning than finding a magnificent elephant drinking water from your backyard pool.
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This story was originally published by PetHelpful on Feb 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add PetHelpful as a Preferred Source by clicking here.