Alleged poacher trampled by elephants dies in South Africa

An alleged poacher died last Saturday trampled by a herd of elephants in the Kruger National Park in South Africa, the spokesman for that well-known natural reserve, Isaac Phaahla, confirmed to Efe today.

The deceased and his accomplices were fleeing from the rangers when they ran into a herd of breeding elephants in the aforementioned park (northeast), one of the main tourist attractions in the country.

“When they realized they had been spotted, the suspected poachers threw an ax and a bag with their supplies in an attempt to escape the rangers”, explained South African National Parks (SANParks), the body that manages these spaces, in a statement

One of the suspects was arrested and informed the pursuers of the fortuitous encounter with the pachyderms, although he did not know if his companion had managed to escape.

“The rangers discovered his accomplice badly trampled and sadly succumbed to his injuries,” SANParks said, adding that a third suspect was injured in the eye, but continued to flee.

“That one has not yet been arrested, but on Sunday we arrested three other suspects with a rifle, ammunition and an ax.”, confirmed this Monday to Efe Phaahla.

“Their nationalities have not yet been established. It will be done as soon as they appear in court,” added the spokesperson.

The director of Kruger National Park, Gareth Coleman, recalled that “the campaign against poaching is everyone’s responsibility,” because “it threatens many livelihoods, destroys families and attracts much-needed resources to fight crime that could be used to create jobs and development.”

Events of this type have happened in the past. In April 2019, for example, a suspected rhino poacher was trampled by an elephant and then eaten by a pride of lions in the same park.

Kruger is the largest park in South Africa, it has about 19,000 animals and is home to the largest population of rhinos and elephants, as well as being a major tourist attraction in the country, visited by more than 1.5 million people a year.

Poachers often look for rhinoceros horns, which are sold at high prices especially in Asian markets, where they are credited with healing and aphrodisiac properties.