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There is no shortage of stories that highlight why you want to avoid getting on an elephant’s bad side, as the massive mammals are highly intelligent creatures who rarely back down from a fight. That was the case with one that came face-to-face with a safari guide in South Africa and opted to deploy a weapon in the form of the rock it hurled at him with its trunk.
Elephants are not only the largest land animals on the planet but also one of the smartest. They’re known for exhibiting problem-solving skills, harnessing tools that help them tackle various tasks, and famously “never forget” thanks to a brain that’s seemingly capable of grasping the concept of revenge drive by pure, unadulterated spite.
In 2022, an elephant in India was at the center of a viral story concerning a suspected poacher who it trampled to death before showing up to her funeral, throwing her corpse in the air, and damaging her house with other members of its herd.
That transpired a year before another man was trampled to death by elephants who stormed the village where the body of a calf that had been illegally killed was being hidden. There are also some slightly more wholesome tales on the memory front, as close to two dozen animals traveled to hold what can only be described as a vigil for a conservationist known as the “Elephant Whisperer” following his passing in 2012.
Another man who’s made it his mission to protect elephants recently found himself in a fairly unnerving situation while doing his job at a nature reserve in South Africa, and his reflexes were put to the test thanks to what transpired during a fairly tense showdown.
A safari guide at South Africa’s Selati Game Reserve had to think fast after an elephant used its truck to chunk a rock at him
The Selati Game Reserve is a nearly 30,000-hectare expanse in South Africa that was established in 1993 as a sanctuary for the many unique species that call Africa home, including the animals that comprise the continent’s “Big 5”: lions, leopards, buffaloes, rhinos, and elephants.
Mac Stevenson works as a wildlife monitor and photographer at Selati and was recently making the rounds when he encountered an elephant that was less than thrilled to come across the jeep he was riding in.
The animal engaged in a standoff with the vehicle before throwing a rock that almost broke one of its headlights, and it firmly ignored Stevenson’s plea of “No more rocks” before tossing a second one that he casually snagged before casting it aside.
That appeared to be a “Game Recognize Game” moment for the elephant, which wandered away shortly after giving Stevenson a moment he’ll be able to brag about for the rest of his life along with video evidence he can pull out if anyone calls the story into question.