A 79-year-old American tourist died after being attacked last Saturday by a male elephant in Kafue National Park, Zambia. The incident was recorded by the cell phone of one of the victims. There, the moment is observed in which the mammal runs towards the cart in which six tourists and the guide were traveling for several meters. Suddenly, the vehicle stops, the elephant catches up with it and pushes it until it overturns.
The victim was identified by his family as Gail Mattson. His son, Blake Vetter, told the CNN that they found out about the woman’s death through the United States embassy. “Everyone loved her and she was the center of attention,” Vetter recalled. “She was 79 years old and she wanted to spend a month in Africa. She would be the first to understand that this could happen. Everyone wants to blame the elephant and the driver, but no, it was a freak accident“, he claimed.
For the same episode, another woman was injured and was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa. The remaining four tourists were treated in Zambia for minor injuries. Kafue, the vast nature reserve located in southern Zambia, It is the second largest park in the country, with 22,400 square kilometers. It is home to over 200 species of animals and is known for lion and leopard sightings, as well as an incredible diversity of antelope species.
Keith Vincent, company spokesperson Wilderness, responsible for the tragedy safari, maintained that the guide was forced to brake the vehicle because the road was blocked. “Our guides are extremely well trained and experienced, but unfortunately on this occasion the terrain and vegetation blocked the route and the guide was unable to move the vehicle to get it out of danger quickly enough,” he described. In the video you can see how the elephant runs menacingly through the dense terrain towards the tourists’ vehicle. A man is heard shouting “hey, hey, hey!” , in a futile effort to scare him away: when he reaches them, he turns them over without much effort.
Elephants are a problem in Botswana and the president crossed German protectionists
The president of Botswana, Mokgweetsi Masisi, threatened this Tuesday to send 20,000 elephants to Germany, amid a dispute over the import of hunting trophies to the European country. Masisi has already offered 8,000 elephants to Angola and another 500 to Mozambique, in a bid to address what he described as “overpopulation”.
Germans should “live with animals, as they want to tell us,” Mokgweetsi Masisi told the German newspaper Bild. “It’s not a joke,” she later clarified and insisted: “We would like to offer such a gift to Germany, I wouldn’t take no for an answer.” The African leader argued that conservation efforts have caused an explosion in elephant numbers. and that hunting is a fundamental means of keeping them under control.
Video | This was the rescue of an elephant filmed by an Argentine
According to Masisi, Botswana saw its elephant population grow to around 130,000, causing property damage, with elephants eating crops and crushing residents. The southern African country banned trophy hunting in 2014, but lifted restrictions in 2019, under pressure from local communities. It currently issues annual hunting quotas, while Germany is one of the largest importers of hunting trophies in the European Union.
Germany’s Environment Ministry earlier this year raised the possibility of imposing stricter limits on the import of hunting trophies over concerns about poaching. “In light of the alarming loss of biological diversity, We have a special responsibility to do everything possible to ensure that the importation of hunting trophies is sustainable and legal“argued a spokeswoman. But an import ban would only impoverish Botswana, Masisi said.
ML / ED