Tortoise Gets In The Way Of Thirsty Herd of Elephants

A poor tortoise got into a bit of trouble when he walked straight into the path of a herd of elephants heading for a watering hole.

Being a tortoise, he couldn’t get out of the way in time, but he turned out to be incredibly lucky, as the stampeding elephants either recognized the tiny reptile’s life was in the balance, or they simply didn’t want to step on the strange “rock” in their path.

Each of the passing elephants carefully steps over the tortoise, being careful not to crush the poor animal. One baby elephant even curiously nudges him with her trunk, before going for a drink of water!


Kruger Sightings in Kruger National Park in South Africa shared the video and wrote, “Interestingly enough, the elephants seemed to be aware of the tortoise’s presence and were very careful to step over the tortoise or only bump him gently with their giant feet.”

“For a minute or so, the herd was standing over the tortoise, having a good time in the water,” Kruger Sightings wrote. “But luckily, the elephants soon moved a bit upstream and the tortoise immediately saw an escape path, letting him flee for his life back to the safety of the surrounding bush.”

That’s one lucky tortoise and another example of why elephants are awesome!

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