The family staying at the Elephant Sands bush lodge in Botswana certainly hoped to see some incredible African wildlife while they were there. The lodge is located on a 60 square mile private conservancy where animals are allowed to roam freely. While relaxing at the swimming pool one afternoon, they had a very large visitor.
When they heard rustling coming from nearby bushes, they had no idea what to expect. Maybe they were about to have a close encounter with some harmless creature like an impala, giraffe or zebra.
But for all they knew, they were about to discover what’s it’s like to be face to face with a tougher customer like a jackal, leopard, or lion. Their visitor turned out to be one of the world’s great gentle giants: an elephant!
While the family looked on in awe, the enormous elephant lumbered over to the pool, eyeing the people to be sure that they were friendly.
Satisfied they meant no harm, the elephant dipped its trunk into the water and scooped up some water to drink (the lodge keeps the water clean and chlorine-free, knowing that wildlife may drink it).
While you might suppose that elephants use their trunks as giant straws, that’s not the case. A thirsty elephant will suck water only a certain distance up its trunk and then spray it into its mouth. Typically, an elephant might drink as much as of 50 gallons per day.
Fortunately, someone had a phone handy and recorded the elephant’s visit to the swimming pool and we’ve posted it to you below. After the elephant was done drinking, it looked at the people again, as if to say, “Thanks and sorry if I bothered you.”
Quite the vacation memory for this family! How about you, would you like to go someplace like this? Let us know in the discussion section below and be sure to like and share. We need your support.
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