The sightseer with a camera in one hand grinned widely and waved to his mate filming as he continued to inch closer to the elephant staring straight at him in the Phu Luang Wildlife Sanctuary in Thailand.
But his happy-snapping was soon scarily interrupted when the animal began charging towards him.
Apparently scared stiff on the spot, the slow-thinking tourist barely moves a metre before raising his shivering hands in a last-ditch effort to stop the charge.
The holiday video captures the moment from tragedy as the elephant trumpets but actually stops centimetres from its target.
The thrilling video was uploaded online today, with Thai news websites reporting that the incident took place in the wildlife sanctuary in the country's north, near the Laos border, on May 22.
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Aliyath balanna athi mona wikaarayakda yako muu duwanne naththe ai kiyala 
