Arnold Schwarzenegger’s elephant close encounter: ‘Take a photo, not a shot’

Former bodybuilder and California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is being praised online after his close encounter with an elephant.

Schwarzenegger, who was on safari in an unspecified African country, captioned his Twitter video with “take a photo, not a shot,” referring to the controversial ivory hunt.

Schwarzenegger is an advocate for elephant conservation, and is staunchly against the ivory trade.

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Twitter users and fans of Schwarzenegger praised the actor’s actions:

One even proposed that the ’80s action heroes band together against poachers.

Increasingly, celebrities are being tapped to use their influence against the poaching industry. Ivory fetches more than US$1,000 per pound, according to the conservation group Save the Elephants.

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Tens of thousands of elephants are slaughtered every year, threatening to send the world’s largest land mammal into extinction.