“Driving past a small herd one afternoon in the South Luangwa, we glanced behind us and noticed that a large tuskless cow was chasing us. We kept slightly ahead of her, expecting the charge to fade. Instead, she picked up the pace, tucked her ears flat and pushed home the charge. 

She seemed to know where the road went as she took short cuts in an attempt to intercept us. For well over a kilometre she remained close behind, sometimes less than ten feet away from the back of our vehicle. This is when you hope that the road doesn’t end, or a sandy patch slows you down. 

Luckily, neither scenario unfolded, and after another few moments, she gave up. This was one of the most persistent charges I have experienced. Perhaps she’d had some bad experiences with humans and vehicles in the past and was taking it out on us. Just goes to show you need to treat each elephant sighting individually, as no two animals are the same.”