Wild animals are just that...wild

On the news today was the sad story of two women who were killed by an elephant while on a walking safari in Zambia. I’m sad for their families. Believe me, I know. In 1996 my cousin was killed by a hippo. She was on a makoro (canoe) in the Okavango Swamps in Botswana when the hippo charged, flipped the makoro and then went for my cousin. 
Please remember if you ever decide to take a safari, these wild places in Africa are just that…wild. And the animals there are wild. It’s not a petting zoo, as some people seem to think. Some years ago, in a game park in South Africa, a couple of Chinese tourists got out of their vehicle to take selfies with lions, despite being told to stay in their car at all times. They were mauled to death. In another instance, a German tourist got out of her vehicle in order to tend to a lion with an injured paw. She too died.
The ladies on safari in Zambia were confronted by a female elephant with a calf. It is in the nature of wild animals to protect their young (far better than we do as humans!). As a result, the female elephant charged and the two women died. What is sad for me is that the tour guide shot at and wounded the female elephant. For god’s sake, she was only protecting her young!
We were in a campervan in South West Africa (Namibia) when we came upon a herd of elephants. The Matriarch was not pleased. First she bellowed a warning, then knocked her front feet together. Then she faced us with her ears flapping – a sure sign we were in serious trouble. We’d sat in the van with the gear already in reverse. And we got out of there as fast as we could.
Elephants are known to have rolled vehicles. We had four children in the van with us. We knew not to argue.
If you decide to go on safari, please remember you are a guest. You are only visiting. Please respect the local inhabitants, our wonderful wild animals.