patriarch elephant nita as a shield when they are near her. for two years he keeps his distance from cindy. but on that day in january, he notices she's a little too close for comfort. >> cindy was next to the gate. i needed to get her moved. in the process of moving cindy, i opened the gate and i should have closed the gate behind me. >> but david doesn't close the gate. a mistake that will almost cost him his life. just moments later he senses he's in trouble. >> i just had a feeling that she was going to come after me. so i yelled for help. >> hey, bob! >> and right when i yelled hey, bob, she ran after me. she knew the terror in my voice. >> with 10,000 pounds of angry elephant heading straight for him, david lunges for the quickest escape route. >> the fastest way was diving under the belly of another elephant, so i can have a buffer