How elephant killed 43-year-old tourist trying to snap pictures
An elephant has on Sunday morning killed a 43-year-old Spanish man during a visit to Pilanesberg National Park with his fiancee.
The unfortunate event happened after the tourist climbed down from his car to take photos of the herd.
The group had been driving around in their own vehicle before spotting three elephants with three calves, officers said.
A spokesman from the local tourism board, Pieter Nel, said the matriarch got agitated the moment he saw the man stepped out of the car walking towards the herd, hence the charge and attack.
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“It was normal behaviour for wild elephants to defend their young, said Mr Nel, of the same tourism body.
The force says an investigation is now under way.
Tourists are constantly reminded about the importance of staying inside their vehicles when visiting the park, and to keep a good distance between animals and their vehicles and give animals a chance to move freely, and to only get out of vehicles in safely designated areas,” said Thami Matshego, chief executive officer of the North West Parks and Tourism Board, speaking to local news outlet Netwerk24.
“Despite warnings from his fellow passengers and occupants from two other vehicles that were at the sighting, he (the deceased) unfortunately did not heed their warnings,” he added.
Elephant attacks are not uncommon.
Earlier this year, an 80-year-old woman from the US was killed by an elephant that charged at her safari vehicle in Zambia.
In 2019, a suspected rhino poacher was trampled on by an elephant then eaten by a pride of lions in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
Proofreading, editing by Gift Luckson and Jane Aiso, Editor and Journalist at Neptune Prime.
