WATCH: Close call as elephant charges tourists in Botswana's Okavango Delta

Dramatic footage has surfaced of what could have been a fatal elephant attack on tourists canoeing in Botswana’s Okavango Delta.

The two couples from the UK and the US survived with minor injuries when an elephant charged at their canoes in the shallows as their guides tried to retreat, but not before the dugout boats were capsized by the enraged animal.

In the video, you can see the elephant ploughing into the first canoe, sending the tourists flying as the craft capsizes, and as it hits the other canoe, overturning it.

Trumpet warning

The “Daily Mail” reported that the guides had been poling their guests (gondola style) through shallow water on Saturday, but seemingly got too close to a female elephant and her two calves, leading to the bull of the herd charging and trumpeting through the shallow waters and reeds in a fierce attack.

The four tourists ended up in the water, where they faced further danger, as crocodiles are plentiful in the delta.

It appears as though the one woman was going to be trampled to death as the elephant bore down on her with its tusks, stomping wildly as she got submerged, while the guides beat a hasty retreat to the riverbank.

Other elephants and a calf can be seen veering away from the terrified tourists.

And as quickly as it happened, it came to an end, with the bull retreating to the herd.

Keep your distance

But the incident has led to calls for tourists not to push the boundaries of nature, placing both wildlife and people in mortal danger.

Wildlife guide, Dawie Fourie, shared a video from Sean de la Harpe, posting: “Thankfully, the guest walked away from this interaction. As a guide, I know how important it is to respect breeding herds with young calves.

“If there is anything I wish for people to take away from my posts, it is to be more respectful, more professional and ultimately stop putting the lives of both animals and people at risk.

“With social media being as powerful as it is, people going on safari want to get closer to the wildlife, and this is where I step in and say, ‘NO WE ARE CLOSE ENOUGH’.”

Advocating for greater respect for wild animals, he added: “There is no need to run with wild dogs, walk into lions and push our presence, get antagonistically close to elephants or push boundaries with leopard.

“Safaris are fast turning into mass-produced events that are enabling these, in my opinion, unethical events to occur. I urge anyone going on safari to check themselves as to what they wish to experience and do your research.”

Encounters with wild animals are sought after by people from across the globe, but they can also place tourists in great danger, as recently happened to visitors to Cape Vidal.

Close call

A former South African game ranger, Kakwele Sinyina, told “The Sun” that the woman was lucky not to have been “gored” to death after the guides “misjudged” the distance between them and the herd.

“The woman was lucky not to have been gored, but if it had held her down for another few seconds, it would probably have drowned her, so she can praise the Lord he didn’t.

“There are thousands of these dug-out traditional Makoro canoes on the Delta, poling tourists through the reeds to view elephants, hippo, birds, buck and crocodiles.

“This bull attacked because it was protecting its young, and it seems the guides misjudged how close they could take the tourists safely and made a potentially fatal mistake.

“There could well have been the need for four body bags if Lady Luck had not favoured them. 

“It will certainly give them a story to tell around the fire for many years to come.”