Tourist trampled to death by elephants while taking photos in South Africa
Sarah Do Couto Global News
July 10, 2024
See link
https://globalnews.ca/news/10614418/spanish-tourist-trampled-death-elephants-south-africa/
for photo.
A Spanish tourist in South Africa was killed on Sunday when he allegedly
exited a vehicle to take photos of wild elephants at a national park and
was trampled by the herd, local authorities said Tuesday.
The 43-year-old tourist, who was not named, was visiting Pilanesberg
National Park in North West province with his fiancée and two other people.
The man’s death is at least the third elephant-related fatality involving
tourists in Africa in the last four months.
Park officials told police the man left his vehicle, which is not allowed,
and approached the elephants to take photos.
The herd included three calves.
North West province’s Parks and Tourism Board confirmed the incident and
said an adult female elephant was first to charge at the man.
In a statement obtained by the Associated Press, the board said the man
“was unfortunately not able to escape or evade the elephant,” which was
joined by the whole herd in trampling him.
“The elephants moved away immediately from the scene without any aggression
towards the nearby vehicles and eventually disappeared into the bushes,”
the statement reads.
Though elephants are typically not hostile, female elephants can become
aggressive when they perceive a threat to their young calves. Male
elephants may become aggressive during musth, a natural phenomenon which
involves an increase in a male elephant’s reproductive hormones.
The three other people accompanying the Spanish tourist in his vehicle, all
from Johannesburg, were uninjured.
Prior to the Spanish tourist’s death, two other American travellers were
separately killed in elephant charging incidents in Africa this year.
Both of the other tourist deaths occurred in Zambia.
In June, 64-year-old tourist Juliana Gle Tourneau died when she was
trampled by elephants after she was knocked from a vehicle in the city of
Livingstone.
Before that, 79-year-old American Gail Mattson was killed after a bull
elephant charged a safari vehicle in Kafue National Park in western Zambia.
The incident was caught on video. The elephant was seen making a charge
toward the vehicle before using its tusks to flip the safari car.
https://globalnews.ca/news/10614418/spanish-tourist-trampled-death-elephants-south-africa/