Simon Hunter
A SPANISH man aged 43 died on Sunday afternoon in South Africa, after he was attacked by an elephant while he tried to take photos of its herd.
The tragic accident happened in the Pilanesberg National Park & Game Reserve, not far from the town of Mogwase, according to Spanish news agency Efe.
Local police said that the tourist was travelling in a vehicle with his fiancee as well as two women from South Africa.
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He stopped the car to get out and take photos of a herd of three elephants and their three calves.
It was then that the ‘elephant supposedly attacked and killed him’, the police sources told Efe.
“Visitors to the park must realise that these are wild animals,” a source at the reserve told local media outlet The Citizen.
“You cannot simply get out of your vehicle and approach an animal. Selfies or getting closer photo opportunities with an animal that may see you as a threat or invader of their territory can have dire consequences,” they added.
In April this year, an aggressive elephant charged and flipped a safari vehicle in Zambia’s Kafue Park, killing a 79-year-old tourist, according to The Citizen.
