Video of a woman getting slapped by an elephant has made its way around the globe, going viral in the process.
The video posted by Twitter user Ernie Ley shows a young woman standing dangerously close to an African elephant to get a quick snap, but the incident quickly turned sour when it slapped the phone from her hands, knocking her away in the process.
The elephant then appears to reach for her phone.
The African elephant is the largest land-based animal on the planet, and can weight up to 6,000 kilograms. It has not been reported whether the woman was injured during the incident, with reports instead focusing on the sinful hilarity of the situation.
“When in Zambia….don’t stand too close!!” Ley tweeted.
https://twitter.com/FritoCorn1/status/1144755062004228096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1144755062004228096%7Ctwgr%5E393039363b74776565745f6d65646961&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftravel.nine.com.au%2Flatest%2Felephant-slaps-tourist-on-phone-viral-video%2F536767b4-cbfe-48e1-bafe-3ac2d309e8f8
Shared on Twitter just over a week ago, the video has since racked up more than 10 million views, over five thousand likes and more than a thousand retweets.
World Animal Protection ANZ executive director Simone Clarke responded by to the video by saying that it was a “good reminder that elephants are wild animals.”
Good reminder that elephants are wild animals. We can all be elephant-friendly travellers by keeping our distance – and hopefully we can keep our phones too! #elephants #phoneenvy
— Simone Clarke (@SimoneClarkeANZ) July 5, 2019
Many Twitter users found the video hilarious, while others said the young girl “deserved” the trunk-slap because she didn’t respect the animal’s boundaries.
lol " whats he gonna do with a phone?"
— KingEdgar.eth (@Dirtbomb13) July 2, 2019
Some users wondered whether there was a flash that scared the elephant, while others said the elephant must be “annoyed” at sharing its space with people. There was also ongoing debate as to the sex of the elephant, in the comments section.
https://twitter.com/mwaba_marie/status/1146520580344049664
