It was not the best place for him to take a nap – but at five-and-a-half tons, the Five African elephant can pretty much sleep where he likes.
So there the 20-year-old beast stayed, on all fours and steady in the nodding land, while visitors visiting his safari park home were forced to line up on the path he was blocking.
The comic pictures were taken by head keeper Andy Plumb, who rushed to get his camera when he spotted Five.
He said: ‘There was a bit of a traffic jam that lasted for quite a while when Five was out for the count, and there were rocks along the road to prevent drivers from leaving the track.
“I think the sun has become a bit too much for him, and he has no energy left and just needs to settle down where he was.
“When I arrived, there was a line of traffic forming, and it just got more crowded – he’s a bit of a character, so I wasn’t surprised when he decided to crash out on the road.
‘When he finally woke up, I don’t think he knew what all the fuss was about. There was loud cheering, and he just wandered around looking for somewhere else to sleep.
“We all had a good laugh about it for the rest of the day.”
