Northern Irishman receives a shock as elephant charges safari picnic

A video shows the elephant advancing with ears flapping as the group sits at a picnic table in northern Zimbabwe.

Stephen Montague was sitting with relatives in a restaurant in Zimbabwe when the animal swung its massive trunk at them, throwing them off their chairs.

The animal retreats and at the end of the clip, one of the men pulls up his shirt to reveal where the elephant made contact with its tusk.

39-year-old Stephen and his wife Shannon who is from America, are now holidaying at Mana Pools, a wildlife conservation area in northern Zimbabwe with some other members of Shannon’s family.

In the video, the elephant approaches the duo cautiously and appears to scour the ground in a bid to find some food. One can be heard saying: “It’s another boy, big boy”.

But the animal suddenly ploughs into the two men.

He wouldn’t let something like that stop him.

Some plates, cutlery and glasses from the table were overturned during the assault.

Elephant attacks are increasing with around 500 people reportedly killed worldwide each year.

However, the elephant decides that it wants to get closer to the tourists and takes a few confident steps towards them. “Stephen is fine and that’s what is most important to us”.

Just last week a video emerged online of an elephant at Hwange National Park charging into a safari truck and lifting it into the air.