Zambia: Elephant kills 2 foreign tourists

NamStay

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LUSAKA, Zambia

A stray elephant killed two foreign tourists in Zambia's tourist capital Livingstone when they tried to get too close to it in the hopes of capturing a picture, police said Sunday.

Acting police spokesman Danny Mwale told journalists in a statement issued on Sunday morning that the deceased tourists were a 55-year-old woman from Belgium and a 64-year-old man from the Netherlands.

According to Mwale, police officers who visited the scene on Saturday evening found the bodies with multiple injuries lying in the Maramba River Lodge, a holiday resort 4 kilometers (2.48 miles) from the spectacular Victoria Falls.

"The deceased whose names have been withheld have been kept in Batoka Hospital mortuary, not only awaiting identification but also postmortem, before deciding whether to bury them in Zambia or repatriate them to their countries of origin," the statement added.

Mwale said that police was also investigating the possibility of suicide.

According to the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA), human-animal conflicts across the country leave hundreds of people dead every year. Both local and foreign tourists who visit game parks are not safe from stray animals.


Source: http://aa.com.tr/en/africa/zambia-elephant-kills-2-foreign-tourists/963192
 
Sad news. People often simply do not understand the danger a wild animal may pose.
 
Horribly sad, but predictable with the amount of misinformation in the west. This quote highlights the information gap in the west:

Mwale said that police was also investigating the possibility of suicide.

Why else would you approach an elephant, they think....
 
Sad news, but hard to grasp that some people could think lets get real close to a elephant
 
Sad.
Clearly these two never read any of the old Safari journals.
Some of the details on how elephants kill humans are horrific and very insightful — the details of “bringing a friend’s remains back in a pail” stick in my mind.
Stay Clear Of Wild Elephants!
 
Yikes, what a way to go.
 
Always amazed when i talk to people that went on a photo safari. They state how close they get to buffalo, lion, etc., all the animals. In the back of my mind, those are not wild animals anymore. People go on these types of trips, then when on their own think, no problem lets get closer. Sorry to hear about this, but almost expected to some extent.
 
They ARE wild animals. Their behavior is unpredictable. Remember the Sigfreid and Roy tiger attack? They got an education as to what is a wild animal. One just never knows.

http://lancasteronline.com/features...cle_ccae770a-4b04-11e4-86cd-001a4bcf6878.html

Flashback Friday: "Siegfried & Roy" star seriously hurt when beloved tiger attacks on stage

The potential for danger was always part of the draw to
Siegfried & Roy’s wildly popular Las Vegas stage show.

Co-star Roy Horn was seriously injured Oct. 3, 2003 — his birthday — when a 7-year-old white tiger named Montecore lunged at his neck and dragged him off-stage.

According to The Las Vegas Sun, Horn suffered a crushed windpipe and was left partially paralyzed with damaged neck arteries. Doctors said he also suffered two strokes during surgery in the aftermath of the incident.

Federal investigators conducted a two-year review but never determined what set off Montecore. Horn defended Montecore, calling the tiger his “lifesaver … the one responsible for pulling me to safety where the paramedics could help me after my high blood pressure made me dizzy on stage.”

Horn, 69, and partner Siegfried Fischbacher, 74, are now retired from the stage after a brief return in 2009, with Montecore. The tiger died last March at age 17.

In slightly cheerier animal news, remember this touching reunion?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
These tourists have no respect for wild animals....and things happen !
 
While only a few people have replied on this thread, one thing is already clear.

No one has called the deceased names, no one has said they deserved to die, no one said they deserved to burn in hell or hope they suffered, and no one has called them any names.

True, they weren't hunting elephants at the time, but getting whether you have a rifle or a camera, you are pursuing wildlife, and in some cases, it tends not to appreciate the distinction.
 
This is the second instance of an elephant killing tourists in Zambia this year, a German man was sadly killed near lower Zambezi national park at Easter. In both cases the reports have been that the people got too close to the elephants.

I've camped at maramba river lodge in Livingstone before and on two occasions have been made to feel quite uncomfortable by the elephants that come into the camp site. On the second occasion the situation was, I felt, aggravated by the security guard on duty throwing fire crackers at the elephants to try and scare them off! I thought this was a ridiculous plan and was at one point sitting up in my small dome tent with a very nervous elephant all of 5 mtrs away while the guard hurled lit fire crackers at it. I wanted to shout to him to stop but didn't want to either agitate the elephant further or wake my 3 year old daughter who was sleeping next to me.

The elephants are regular visitors to this camp site and for this reason I don't recommend camping there.
 
While only a few people have replied on this thread, one thing is already clear.

No one has called the deceased names, no one has said they deserved to die, no one said they deserved to burn in hell or hope they suffered, and no one has called them any names.

True, they weren't hunting elephants at the time, but getting whether you have a rifle or a camera, you are pursuing wildlife, and in some cases, it tends not to appreciate the distinction.
 
If I ever take a photo safari trip even for a day, (and I might next summer if I take my buff within the first few days), I want to be in an enclosed vehicle, whether it be a cage, or metal and glass. I have seen pics of people armed only with cameras in completely open top vehicles watching the big cats, far too close! Not for me!!!
 
If I ever take a photo safari trip even for a day, (and I might next summer if I take my buff within the first few days), I want to be in an enclosed vehicle, whether it be a cage, or metal and glass. I have seen pics of people armed only with cameras in completely open top vehicles watching the big cats, far too close! Not for me!!!
Better keep the windows up too.

 
Agree!
 
If I ever take a photo safari trip even for a day, (and I might next summer if I take my buff within the first few days), I want to be in an enclosed vehicle, whether it be a cage, or metal and glass. I have seen pics of people armed only with cameras in completely open top vehicles watching the big cats, far too close! Not for me!!!

Science/Technology has slowed natural evolution to a snail's pace, however the crafty human will always invent ways to prove that only the strong/smart survive.
 
Some reports coming in are that perhaps these unfortunate people were not so close to the elephants. The lady that died was apparently quite familiar with wild animals having been a safari guide at some point in Tanzania. They were not actually taking photos.

The truth is that with human populations increasing dramatically in this part of the world these human/animal conflicts are to be expected.

Zambia, like many nearby countries, has too many elephants concentrated in relatively small areas. Livingstone, lower Zambezi national park and south luangwa national park are all in need of well managed culling programs. Without such we can expect these stories to become more regular.

Here are some recent articles about this and another incident in Livingstone:

https://www.lusakatimes.com/2017/11...-trampled-death-elephant-maramba-river-lodge/

https://www.lusakatimes.com/2017/11/14/family-tourists-killed-elephant-livingstone-speaks/

https://www.lusakatimes.com/2017/11/16/another-elephant-attacks-vehicle-courtyard-hotel-livingstone/
 

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