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Safari Meal Trunk-ated By Elephant Attack

An elephant gave a Northern Irishman, his wife and in-laws a shock when it charged them while they were eating.

Stephen Montague, 39, and his American wife Shannon are travelling with family members around Mana Pools, a wildlife park in northern Zimbabwe.

They had been eating a meal when the elephant walked slowly onto the scene, apparently searching for food on the ground.

Mr Montague, who moved to California earlier this year, and his brother-in-law Shane Wolf were thrown from their chairs when the elephant moved over to where they were sitting and swung its trunk at them.

Mr Wolf was hurt by the elephant's tusks but, other than that, the group had a lucky escape and remained remarkably calm.

Elephants are not usually aggressive, although, according to National Geographic, it is thought around 500 people are still killed by them each year.

From her home in Beragh, Co Tyrone, Mr Montague's mother Patricia told the Belfast Telegraph: "They took what happened in their stride. The elephant wandered into the compound looking for something to eat.

"One of the guards threw it something but that made it bolder and it headed over to the table. Stephen is fine and that's what is most important to us."