Camille Kostek Admits New 'Fear’ After Wild Interaction on Her “SI Swimsuit” Safari Shoot: 'Terrified' (Exclusive)

Skyler CarusoWed, May 13, 2026 at 5:22 PM UTC

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Camille Kostek poses for the 2026 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.
Credit: Ruven Afanador /SPORTS ILLUSTRATED -

Camille Kostek spoke with PEOPLE exclusively about her return to Sports Illustrated Swimsuit for her ninth issue this year

The model recalled a wild interaction she had during her photo shoot in Botswana, which left her "terrified" in the nights leading up to shoot day

She also opened up about the "incredible" experience she had shooting in Africa, having never visited the continent prior to the job

Camille Kostek will do what it takes to get the shot!

The multi-hyphenate model, 34, spoke with PEOPLE exclusively about her return to the iconic pages of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit for her ninth consecutive issue and shared an unexpected interaction she had while shooting on location in Botswana this year.

"The nights leading up to it... I kind of had a thing with the baboons," Kostek tells PEOPLE while reflecting on her stay within the Okavango Delta, a massive inland delta situated in the heart of the Kalahari Desert, in Southern Africa for the stretch of her SI Swim photo shoot.

Camille Kostek.
Credit: John Lamparski/Getty

The Connecticut native, who hadn't been to Africa prior to the job, admitted that she had "no idea" she had "such a fear" of baboons until they paid her a visit.

"I had thought that someone was knocking on top of my little villa. You're not in a hotel. You each have your own glass house, if you will. So you were really waking up to the sunrise, you're watching the sunset and you're watching animals just live in the wild," she explains.

"It's a really crazy concept to wake up to," continues Kostek. "There are lions. There are the monkeys. There are cougars and hippopotamuses. There are snakes and hyenas and wild dogs. There are birds you've never imagined. Did I mention lions? Those we saw, the lions."

While the seasoned model considered the experience "incredible," her interactions with the baboons specifically left a lasting impression on her.

Camille Kostek strikes a pose in Botswana for the 2026 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.
Credit: Ruven Afanador /SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

"I was taking a nap after a sunrise safari and there was banging. I opened up my backslider door. I looked up on the roof to see like, oh, there must be maintenance men out here in the jungle. Oh, I was met with a big male baboon," she remembers.

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"I learned you should not go face to face with male baboons," Kostek shares. "So I went right back in my place, my heart was beating out of my chest and he came right up to the screen and was like, 'I see you. You're in my home.' I did not know that the place I was staying in was in a baboon tree!"

In conclusion, she adds, "So what you don't see is that I was very terrified. The girls know, it's kind of like a joke now, but it was quite the experience... me and the monkeys."

Baboons aside, Kostek — who spent nine days in Africa to shoot her ninth SI Swimsuit issue — looked picture-perfect in the final selects, which were photographed by Ruven Afanador.

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Camille Kostek.
Credit: The Hapa Blonde/GC Images

"I've never experienced something like that," she shares. "I was in safaris every morning, night and afternoon, and along the safaris you would see some girls out in the wild, but it was like an experience I've never had with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, let alone in my life. It was incredible."

Kostek modeled a range of striking looks for the shoot, including an all-white bikini paired with coordinating pants, a bold red one-piece set against Botswana’s sweeping landscapes, a green swimsuit shot inside her safari retreat, and an animal-print ensemble posed in the untamed wildlife.

Other models photographed in Botswana alongside Kostek for 2026 SI Swimsuit include Alix Earle, Penny Lane, Achieng Agutu and Meredith Mickelson.

Earle was one of the four SI Swimsuit cover stars this year with Hilary Duff, Nicole Williams English and Tiffany Haddish.

on People

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”