A clever elephant was caught on camera climbing over the wall in a safari in an attempt to steal some sweet mangoes from the tree belonging to a nearby lodge.
The incident occurred in South Luangwa National Park in Zambia where Andy Hogg spotted the giant male elephant paying his Mfuwe Lodge a visit in an attempt to get a healthy snack.
As 68-year-old Ian Salisbury, the general manager of the park, explained, the elephant carefully climbed the wall, as if he was a human, without causing any damages.
Sadly, however, his efforts were in vain as the tree was allegedly empty with no mangoes ready for the harvest.
According to safari staff, elephants commonly visit the place in search of mangoes during peak season, but the bull in question was sadly too late and there were no mangoes left for him on the tree.
“He just chose the most direct route and made himself right at home. The guests were very amused at the idea of a climbing elephant. They were in amazement that it would bother to climb over such a high wall,” Mr. Salisbury said.
“They were out on a safari drive in the National Park at the time, so were sorry to have missed seeing it.”
As the safari manager added, a family of elephants visits the same lodge every year. However, they typically arrive between October and December whereas they approach the lodge by following the pathway rather than sneaking in by climbing the wall.
“He was a stranger to us. He wanted to investigate. He wanted to get into the central area where this big mango tree grows,” Ian added.
“He was obviously quite hungry and expected to get some wild mangoes for himself, though there aren’t any left now. That’s all done with for the year.
“He came and stretched over, had a look around, ate a bit of grass, then strangely turned round and came back the same way, which was quite amusing. His easiest way of getting there was to climb over this high wall. It’s really unusual behavior for an elephant to climb so high.”
What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to SHARE this post with your family and friends and follow us on Facebook for more news and stories!
Replaced!