A resurfaced clip showing a man pouring beer down an elephant’s trunk at a Kenyan conservancy has sparked renewed outrage.
Footage from 2024, reported by the BBC and The Times, shows a man drinking from a can of Tusker beer before pouring the remainder into the elephant’s trunk.
The clip, originally shared on the now-deleted @Skydive_Kenya Instagram account, was captioned, “Just a tusker with a tusked friend,” according to the BBC, which reviewed the footage and obtained screengrabs from the deleted post.
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The incident took place at the Ol Jogi Conservancy in Nanyuki, Kenya. While it caused immediate backlash when first posted, the video sparked renewed concern after resurfacing in August 2025.
The Ol Jogi Conservancy addressed the matter, confirming it has been resolved and that the elephant featured in the clip remains in good health.
“Ol Jogi Conservancy is aware of a video resurfacing showing an individual feeding beer to one of our habituated elephants,” the organization said in a release on Friday, Aug. 29. “Bupa, the elephant shown in the video, has lived at Ol Jogi for many years.”
Officials added, “He is cared for closely by our team as an ambassador for conservation. This behavior is unacceptable, dangerous, and completely against our values.”
The release also noted that the incident was dealt with internally last year.
“We take matters like this extremely seriously and remain committed to ensuring the well-being and dignity of the animals in our care,” the conservancy concluded.
PEOPLE has reached out to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), the Ol Jogi Wildlife Conservancy, the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, the owner of Skydive Kenya, and the National Police Service for further comment.
An employee at the conservancy stated the incident “should never have happened.”
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“We’re a conservation organization and we can’t allow that to happen,” Frank told the BBC. “We don’t even allow people to go near the elephants.”
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) confirmed that it investigated the matter.
Skydive_Kenya’s Instagram page also features videos of the man interacting closely with other wild animals. Many clips have drawn backlash, with some calling for his deportation from Kenya, according to the BBC.
He reportedly shared a video of himself feeding a rhino carrots at the nearby Ol Pejeta Conservancy on TikTok.
“He has also broken our rules because he was not supposed to touch the rhinos as they are not pets,” Dylan Habil from Ol Pejeta told the BBC, confirming the rhino belonged to their conservation.
