iPhone says this is where I was 7 years ago. It was an incident I never will forget.
This is Botswana. I climbed aboard a single prop plane, tossed my gear on the floor behind the seats (there were 4) and crawled into the one behind the pilot. She started the engine and I noticed to our right a man making a motion with his hand drawn across his neck as to yell “cut the engine.” Pilot was ready to taxi and didn’t notice, it was loud. I tapped her hard on the shoulder and pointed out the side window. There is a procedure for shutting down the engine which she didn’t follow. She cut it immediately. She told me she was getting out to see what was going on. She left through the door to the left of the pilot’s seat. I sensed something unusual afoot but I was strapped in and my camera equipment was in the back. About this time I hear “Here comes momma and she’s not happy.” Turns out an elephant, just weeks old, had emerged from the bush next to the air strip and was headed for the propeller on my plane. My pilot and the one who warned us ran for their lives leaving me defenseless in a plane that was about to kill her baby. An angry elephant could have turned that plane into splinters. I worked with a lot of photographers who kept shooting no matter what. So I took my cell from my pocket thinking if this ends badly somebody back home will see the pics if they survive and write I loved elephants and airplanes. Then out of the bush thundered momma. Baby realized his mistake and ran toward her. When he got to her was the only time I heard an elephant making that trumpeting noise like in the movies. Right in his face. It shook me in the plane. Bet that kid didn’t leave her side for years. She led him away. Pilot comes back and asks, “Are you okay?” Could have said, “No thanks to you who left me trapped,” but I had to fly on to my next adventure so my answer was “Got some great pictures.” This one was shot through the pilot’s door she didn’t close. I think about this day and what if I wasn’t behind the pilot. What if I hadn’t noticed the guy trying to get her attention. What if that calf had died.
Sorry, comments are closed for this post.