Elephant put down in KNP after attack

thestaggy said:
Apparently there were numerous reports of tourists leaving their vehicles as well. These idiots need to be supplied with a South African upon entering the park, a 'Common Sense Guide'.
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We've come across people in the Kruger having backed their car off the (gravel) road and into the veld, blanket spread on the grass, having a picnic. Seriously. People are, mostly, morons.
 
HapticSimian said:
We've come across people in the Kruger having backed their car off the (gravel) road and into the veld, blanket spread on the grass, having a picnic. Seriously. People are, mostly, morons.
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I once had to change a tyre in the park... OMG! The mopani bushes where so close all around! And there was rustling in the bushes all the time :eek:, which turned out to be francolins scratching in the mopani leaves for seeds. Whew!
 
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DJ... said:
The tourists clearly had absolutely no idea what they were doing and provoked the elephant. Without their naivety (and yes this is naivety, not stupidity) this animal would not have been killed, and they'd be fine.

Tourists should be required to complete a small test before being allowed to enter a park - a simple safety test.

The reasons given for the elephant being killed are nonsense. The animal acted pretty naturally if you ask me, and the previous incident of aggressiveness was apparently towards another elephant, which is completely bloody natural...
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I was thinking about that first point the other day... perhaps you should get some kind of licence or endorsement before being allowed to drive in these big parks.
Just like watching a 30 min safety vid and then doing a multiple choice exam.

Most of us locals know how to handle this kind of situation, but how are the tourists supposed to know ?

It seems logical... but if you have never seen an elephant turn a car or a lion pull off a tire then you might not know.

1st rule : Give big animals lots of space.
2: Don't cross in front of of a big animal.
3: Know what an angry elephant looks like and apply reverse gear.
4: Just don't be a chop, you could die or worse nearly die and have to be rescued.


EDIT: The Elephant had to be dealt with, its not the first time is attacked a car.
 
supersunbird said:
I once had to change a tyre in the park... OMG! The mopani bushes where so close all around! And there was rustling in the bushes all the time :eek:, which turned out to be francolins scratching in the mopani leaves for seeds. Whew!
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It happens. We had to get a tow because of a failed car battery years back. Only after my dad had spent 10 minutes peering at the engine, and had found the assistance of a passer-by with a tow rope, did the pride of 17 lion in and behind a clump of shoulder-high bushes about 20m into the veld make their presence known. Fun times. :D
 
Sanparks defends elephant killing

The decision to euthanise an elephant that attacked tourists in the Kruger National Park last year was taken after proper consideration, SA National Parks (SANParks) said on Thursday.

"... The decision to euthanise the animal was not taken lightly, but [was] based on the information from our well-experienced rangers' assessment [that] the animal was likely to attack tourist vehicles in the future," spokesman Reynold Thakhuli said in a statement.

On December 30, the elephant bull attacked Sarah Brooks and her South African-born fiance Jans de Klerk, who live the UK, in their car near the N'waswitshaka waterhole, near the Pretoriuskop rest camp.

They were following the elephant along a dirt road when it turned around, flipped their car over, and pushed it several hundred metres into the bush.

One of the elephant's tusks pierced the back of Brooks's thigh. She was airlifted to the Medi-Clinic hospital in Nelspruit and was discharged on January 6.

The park decided to shoot the elephant, and said it had previously shown aggressive behaviour towards other elephants.

Kruger National Park managing executive Abe Sibiya said in the statement that conflicts would inevitably occur in environments where humans and animals were in close contact.

The park had rules in place to minimise the chances of injury, but some visitors irresponsibly ignored these rules.

"Tourists need to change their behaviour when on self-game drives.... We drive this message in our communication at check-in points, on our brochures and on the permits."

Sibiya said the people who filmed the attack, footage of which was posted on the internet this week, needed to co-operate with SANParks.

"The law stipulates that evidence such as this should be accompanied by a written statement from eyewitnesses, as the footage cannot be the only permissible evidence in order to sanction any fine against the alleged perpetrators."

Les Hes, a wildlife guide of 35 years' experience in reading animal behaviour, watched the footage of the attack and concluded that the tourists were at fault by driving too close behind the elephant.

"It is actually very tragic that they had to shoot this elephant because of some stupid tourists.... When watching the video, it's clear that this was definitely the fault of the tourists," he said.


Source : Sapa /mjs/jk/cls/jje
Date : 16 Jan 2014 14:27
 
gregmcc said:
Just typical. Why not put down the stupid humans!
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The people are idiots, that's a given and they should be banned from the Kruger and other Sanparks.


Don't they cull elephants in the Kruger ever so often because the populations are to high? If this elephant was aggressive to other elephants and because of this incident are more likely to attack other cars is it not better to destroy him now?
 
Hamster said:
Don't they cull elephants in the Kruger ever so often because the populations are to high? If this elephant was aggressive to other elephants and because of this incident are more likely to attack other cars is it not better to destroy him now?
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The elephant population is at 250% of capacity at present. They (Sanparks) are claiming that it is under control, but they have to make a plan asafp, lest more vegetation gets destroyed (more than normal). I was there last month and the vegetation damage is getting secure.
 
froot said:
The elephant population is at 250% of capacity at present. They (Sanparks) are claiming that it is under control, but they have to make a plan asafp, lest more vegetation gets destroyed (more than normal). I was there last month and the vegetation damage is getting secure.
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/looks at starving children in Ethiopia

No no that is so wrong...but...no..but then...
 
Garyvdh said:
On December 30, the elephant bull attacked Sarah Brooks and her South African-born fiance Jans de Klerk, who live the UK, in their car near the N'waswitshaka waterhole, near the Pretoriuskop rest camp.
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One day it will be people like Sarah and Jans who will be culled.
 
I hope their insurance company declined the claim on the car citing driver stupidity!
 
DJ... said:
Where did you get this info from?
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It was mentioned on another forum.

Also there was a comment on 5 FM from a park official.

It basically comes down to : There are too many elephants in that area, this guy is a rogue bull who is beyond mating age that has become disruptive. They can't do much for him anyway so its the best thing for him.
The incident made the choice a lot easier. In isolation it seems unfair but considering everything else it was the best choice.

If it was a breeding mother that had done this then I doubt they would have done the same.
 
froot said:
The elephant population is at 250% of capacity at present. They (Sanparks) are claiming that it is under control, but they have to make a plan asafp, lest more vegetation gets destroyed (more than normal). I was there last month and the vegetation damage is getting secure.
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They opened the border to Moz. Hoping that the elephants will go over the border... well apparently Elephants are not as stupid as humans, They know they are and were poached in that area and do not cross over. :D
 
froot said:
The elephant population is at 250% of capacity at present. They (Sanparks) are claiming that it is under control, but they have to make a plan asafp, lest more vegetation gets destroyed (more than normal). I was there last month and the vegetation damage is getting secure.
Click to expand...
They opened the border to Moz. Hoping that the elephants will go over the border... well apparently Elephants are not as stupid as humans, They know they are and were poached in that area and do not cross over. :D
 
Victims accuse tourist behind elephant video of leaving them for dead:
http://www.news24.com/Travel/South-...phant-video-of-leaving-them-for-dead-20140127

The nerve!

If I was there I would probably have done something to distract the elephant in a safe manner if I had people with me, something more extreme if I was on my own, but I'm stupidly brave (the kind of person who runs towards the place where an explosion just happened), but I will never expect of others to do that.
 
In the report Brooks, a 30-year-old science teacher from Lincolnshire in the United Kingdom, recounts how she was struggling with the gears of a car she was unfamiliar with during the self-drive safari, slipping it into 1st gear instead of reverse. Brooks states she attempted to do a 3-point turn but blames the errors she made on the gears being on the wrong side of what she was used to.
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Toss. South African vehicles are the exact same vehicles you'd find in the UK, we both drive on the same side of the road and thus our vehicles are configured the same.

Stupid tourist arse-creeped an elephant. Stupid tourist panicked. Stupid tourist got busted up.
 
In the report Brooks, a 30-year-old science teacher from Lincolnshire in the United Kingdom, recounts how she was struggling with the gears of a car she was unfamiliar with during the self-drive safari, slipping it into 1st gear instead of reverse. Brooks states she attempted to do a 3-point turn but blames the errors she made on the gears being on the wrong side of what she was used to.
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1 - why the hell were you driving then?
2 - the gears in the UK are on the same bloody side as South Africa, you pathetic, lying moron. Even if you owned a LHD vehicle, you'd have completed in your driving test in a RHD vehicle.

3 - piss off out of the country and don't come back...
 
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