Safaris make up a large part of African tourism, with Kruger
National Park alone getting more than 1.5 million visitors per year. A
safari can cost around $800 to $1,000 per night, per person. If that seems
expensive, it is! Fees usually include a trained guide, but even
the most knowledgeable game rangers can’t always protect
tourists from angry wild animals. Here are 12 times people escaped wild
animal attacks in Africa.
1. Elephant attack in Gabon
When Michael Nash was exploring in Loango National Park in Gabon, he came
across some baby elephants. Their protective mother was not far away and she
attacked Nash, goring him with her tusks. Nash managed to grab onto the
elephant’s tusks and essentially ride the elephant until they separated.
2. Elephant attack in Zimbabwe
When Tom Stovall of Redding, California was on safari in Hwange National
Park, Zimbabwe, an elephant charged his open sided vehicle, putting a tusk
right through the roof, shoving the car over 15 yards, and smashing a majority
of it. Somehow nobody was hurt.
3. Python in Nigeria
Nigerian farmer Ben Nyaumbe was on his property when a 13-foot python
grabbed him, and coiled around him. The police arrived but couldn’t get a safe
shot at the snake without hurting the farmer. Nyaumbe saved himself by biting
through the python’s tail. Only then did the python loosen its grip.
4. Leopard in Somalia
Carl Akeley, who would go on to be named the “Father of Modern Taxidermy”
killed a leopard with his bare hands while in British Somalia in
1898. When a full grown leopard attacked him, what Akeley did next will
shock you. He shoved his entire arm down the animal’s throat until the animal
suffocated.
5. An elephant in South Africa
British teacher Sarah Brooks was with her fiancé on safari in Kruger
National Park, South Africa, when an elephant charged her vehicle, flipping it
over it and putting a tusk through Brooks’ thigh. The couple survived, but not
the elephant, which was later destroyed.
6. Giraffes in South Africa
You don’t usually think of giraffes as viscous, but safari tourists in
the South Africa were chased for nearly two miles by a male giraffe in 2013.
Some believe the giraffe was suffering “a hormonal imbalance” as this is not
normal behavior for the species. The giraffe kicked the car, and even knocked
off a mirror. Nobody was injured and the driver managed to escape the animal.
7. Chimpanzee in South Africa
When Andrew Oberle was studying chimp behavior at the Goodall Institute in
South Africa he reportedly ignored rules and passed through safety fences to
observe a chimp closer. The animal grabbed him, dragged him for nearly half a
mile and removed several of his fingers, toes and the majority of one of his
arms.
8. Hyenas in Kenya
Two children died after a pack of hyenas attacked a family in the town
of Wajir, Kenya. Musa Jelle, 10, was ruched to hospital and survived the
attack. The boy’s face was mauled. Two of Jelle’s siblings were
died in the attack, and five people were injured.
9. Crocodile on the Nile
During an American expedition on the White Nile in the Congo, South African
guide Hendrik Coetzee was snatched from a kayak by a crocodile. Coetzee’s
body was never recovered. The American tourists on his tour paddled to safety,
unharmed.
10. Rhinoceros in South Africa
When South African student Chantal Beyer was on a safari at the Aloe
Ridge Hotel and Nature Reserve she snapped a picture of herself in front of
some rhinos. One of the rhinos gouged her in the back. Beyer was rushed to the
hospital with a collapsed lung and broken ribs. Beyer survived.
11. Senior citizen elephant in South
Africa
An elderly female elephant displeased with safari goers in Kruger National
Park charged a vehicle, piercing the sides of it and nearly destroying the
door. Luckily nobody was harmed.
12. Hippo attack in Botswana
Miss South Africa 1991, Diana Tilden-Davis was canoeing in the Okavango
Delta, Botswana, when a hippo almost bit off her leg in a brutal attack. A
woman died from a hippo attack in that same body of water just weeks
earlier. Davis survived, but had to use crutches for two years.
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