A wildlife photographer had a close encounter with a herd of elephants in the bush that left him shaking.
Ewan Wilson, from Cardiff, Wales, captured the gentle herd on the bonnet of a truck in Bo-Karoo, in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, on November 24. He was retrieving his hidden motion-sensor camera when the elephants decided to investigate the truck.
Ewan comes face-to-face gentle herd on the bonnet of a truck in Bo-Karoo, in the Northern Cape province of South Africa
He turns towards the drivers and gives them a reassuring nod, indicating that the elephants are peaceful.
In the footage, a large elephant and its calf can be seen walking towards the camera, followed by six more elephants from their herd.
The curious creatures are seen swinging their trunks in front of Ewan, before a large alpha male makes his way through the group.
The gentle giant comes face-to-face with Ewan, who turns towards his friend and nods to indicate that he is safe.
The alpha of the group steers the other elephants away as he asserts his authority by coming within inches of the camera
Some of the herd disperse back into the bush as the alpha turns away from the camera.
But two elephants decide to get another slice of the limelight while a calf can be seen rolling on its back in the sand.
Finally Ewan gets a solo shot of the alpha who comes within inches of the lens.
One elephant and its calf come back to the camera to get another close-up and enjoy their share of the limelight
The truck then drives away from the herd while Ewan is perched on the front of the truck.
Ewan starts to laugh in shock as the large elephant starts walking towards the truck to assert his authority.
He says: ‘Oh my God – I think we will get the camera trap tomorrow if its even still there.’
Ewan turns the camera towards himself as shows his hand trembling from the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
A camera trap is a remotely activated motion or infrared sensor device that captures wild animals when the photographer is not present.
He added: ‘Well that was a retrieval mission that went well and wrong at the same time,’ as he let out a sigh of relief.
He turns the lens towards himself and shows his hand trembling following the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
As the truck makes its way from the herd the alpha follows the group to defend the herd and ensure they leave
Ewan said: ‘These incredible mammals decided to spare our lives that day. They had every right to crush me and flip the vehicle but they didn’t.
‘Despite having such a young calf in the herd the alphas kept us alive.’
He continued: ‘Please do not replicate or recreate this event in the wild. I never go out looking for these interactions as the risks involved are not worth the outcome.’
On his Facebook page, Ewan said: ‘My aim as a photographer is to inspire people to become fascinated with the natural world.
