A viral video has gripped Kenyans online after two men were chased by an elephant in Meru County after getting dangerously close to the animal.

In footage seen by TNX Africa, one man is seen slowly approaching a grazing elephant in the bushes as his companion records.

Dressed in a red T-shirt, black sweatpants and a blue bucket hat, he attempts to film the animal on his phone before edging closer for a better shot.

The second man follows suit, and the pair end up standing just metres from the elephant.

Moments later, the elephant turns and charges, sending the two men sprinting for safety.

The footage quickly descends into shaky shots of bushes as they flee, with the animal trumpeting in the background as the clip ends.

Acknowledging the danger, the person who shared the video credited divine intervention for their escape, captioning it: “Ni Mungu guys, kidogo ninyurie.”

The clip sparked a wave of reactions online.

One user, Melisian, criticised the cameraman, writing, “Cameraman mbona upeleke watazamaji ivo karibu, ona vile umetukimbiza sasa.”

Another, Liz Muigai, joked with a nod to the video game Temple Run, “Kuna mtu amesema tembo run. Sijawahi cheka ivo.”

A third user, Presto, added humorously, “Kumbe Omanyala ain’t fast, new talent unlocked.”

The incident adds to a growing list of human-wildlife encounters in Kenya.

In January 2026, two lionesses strayed from Nairobi National Park into a nearby neighbourhood around Ongata Rongai.

The animals were later tracked, darted and safely returned to the park by Kenya Wildlife Service rangers, with no injuries reported.

In a separate incident, a zebra caused a stir in Nairobi’s Kayole area after it was spotted casually moving through the streets alongside a group of donkeys, drawing crowds of amused residents who stopped to film the unusual sight.