A young man from Lancashire captured an incredible moment when a very nimble elephant managed to climb over a five-foot wall to snag some mangoes from his safari lodge. The visitors of Mfuwe Lodge in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia, had just left for their evening safari drive on Saturday when this unexpected guest arrived. The lodge’s general manager, Ian Salisbury, observed the male elephant carefully planning how to lift its massive legs over the stone barrier without toppling over. Ian’s amusing photos depict the large animal navigating the wall in a manner reminiscent of a human overcoming an obstacle.
Capturing the amazing sight of an incredibly nimble elephant scaling a five-foot wall, a young man from Lancashire was just in it for the mangoes.
Ian managed to capture some side-splitting photos of the massive mammal lifting its legs over the wall, just like a person would do to climb over it.
As it meandered into the camp, Andy Hogg, the managing director of The Bushcamp Company who is in charge of the lodge, captured on video the large creature’s short and unsuccessful attempt to find fruit.
This unexpected visitor, a family of elephants that usually visits the area in southern Africa from October to mid-December, arrived too late to find mangoes, as they were out of season.
Ian, originally from Bacup, Lancashire, mentioned, “He simply took the most direct path and settled in comfortably.”
“The guests found it quite entertaining to see an elephant attempting to climb. They were surprised that it would even bother to climb over such a tall wall.”
While it strolled through the campsite, Andy Hogg, the managing director of The Bushcamp Company which is the lodge’s owner, recorded the large animal attempting to find fruit without any luck.
Ian, a native of Bacup, Lancs, mentioned, “He simply took the most direct path and made himself comfortable right away.”
“They were on a safari drive in the National Park at that moment, so they were disappointed to have missed witnessing it [in person].”
The lodge features a central foyer area that is open and often attracts a family of elephants during the early winter months. However, usually, the herd follows a stoned pathway instead of scaling the wall directly.
According to Ian, “He was unfamiliar to us. He seemed curious and keen to explore the central area where a large mango tree grows. He appeared quite hungry, hoping to find some wild mangoes for himself, although they have all been picked for the year. He approached, peeked around, nibbled on some grass, and then surprisingly retraced his steps back the same way, which was quite amusing. It was quite unusual for an elephant to climb over such a tall wall.”
Ian mentioned that the elephant was a stranger to them and seemed to be interested in exploring the central area where a large mango tree grows. He was amazed to see how the elephant, a mature bull around 30 years old, managed to use its four legs to climb over a wall.
Due to the unusual wet weather, Ian suspects that the elephant may have decided to take a different route to avoid flooding. Elephants are known to roam over vast distances in search of food, so it’s not uncommon for them to show up in unexpected places like this. The recent heavy rains after a dry spell may have sparked the elephant’s curiosity to explore the area.