Why was this Elephant shot ?

Why was this Elephant shot ?
Lucky escape for British woman after elephant flips her car on safari
A British teacher seriously injured when an elephant attacked her car in South Africa last month has been discharged from hospital.

Remarkable video shows the elephant flipping the car at Kruger National Park on 30th December last year.

Sarah Brooks, a teacher from Lincolnshire, was airlifted to hospital after the animal's tusks stabbed her thigh, BBC News reported

In my opinion it wat the familys fault, idiots getting so close to a wildanimal they were asking for trouble. They were not even in a proper Safari Vehicle, and surely can not have had an experienced guide. What is the park doing letting people roam around like this unsupervised ?.

Comment from the Kruger Park Manager
""Of course they were totally frightened but also thankful that they were alive," Kruger general manager William Mabasa is quoted as saying by the BBC.

"The car is a wreck, if I may put it that way.

"I mean it was completely flattened but fortunately the elephant concentrated on the back of the car, that's why we still have our guests alive now as I speak."

Mbasa said the animal had to be killed because its behaviour had become unpredictable.

"It could have engaged in a fight with other bulls where it was eventually expelled, and when an elephant is in that state it will be very aggressive and I think that's the reason why we had a case like this one," he said."

It's a wild Elephant for Gods sake doing what is in it's nature, nature did'nt allow for idiots in cars following right behind it, when it leading its natural life. A complete, and avoidable utter waste of an animals life.

 

For more on this story
http://www.itv.com/news/2014-01-14/lucky-escape-for-british-woman-after-elephant-flips-her-car-on-safari/

WS

I saw that twice on the news yesterday WS and am horrified that the two people in the vehicle were so stupid and that they were allowed to be so stupid. That elephant was clearly unhappy and they should have been briefed on animal behaviour. The fact that the car was so close and not willing to pull back is insane. That ele was shot for no good reason except mans stupidity. Ok I am pleased the passengers are alright but frankly in my opinion they are very lucky and they don't deserve to be driving round without a proper guide.

I am so       I am almost speechless.

Lai

A very unfortunate incident WS and a sad end for the elephant. The Kruger is a National Park and you do not need a guide or a special vehicle to drive around it, you just have to be very careful. Similarly in Kenya you can do the same although with the Kenyan roads you probably need a 4x4. The majority of people who visit the park, probably over 95% do so in their own vehicles and the Kruger attracts over a million visitors a year. All the roads and tracks are either tarmac or as in the video well graded gravel. I have been to the Kruger several times being driven around in a friends RangeRover. Elephants are probably the most unpredictable of all the animals you are likely to encounter and you need to take special care when you come across them. The vehicle appeared to be following the elephant at a reasonable distance as it walked down the road, something they tend to do all the time, and you just have to be patient and wait for the elephant to turn off into the bush. Why it decided to turn round I do not know but as soon as the elephant moved to the side of the road the driver should have accelerated passed and kept the elephant behind her. They were probably taking photos and did not realise the danger. Alternatively as soon as the elephant became aggressive she should have reversed at high speed as the people in the video vehicle did. Sadly people think of elephants as fairly docile gentle giants through watching too many documentaries. They are not, they are highly unpredictable and dangerous and at times can be become very aggressive for no apparent reason, particularly lone males. Whenever you come across an elephant you should always work out the best way of escape if a problem arises. Unfortunately once an elephant attacks a vehicle it is likely to do it again and that is probably why the authorities decided to take it out, a very sad end. A few years ago an elephant again in the Kruger attacked several vehicles, when it was eventually shot it was found to be suffering from a very bad tooth abscess which had made it aggressive!!!
I don't think either party was to blame, it was just a very unfortunate incident especially for the elephant.

SM

Hmmmm I'll come back to you on that SM. Totaly agree Lia

WS

Apologies for taking so long to come back on this one WS. As you must know by now, I will more than likely always take the animals side, especially where man is concerned and for me, this incident is no different. To me it's quite simple, the animal is in it's own natural environment and the humans are trespassers. The elephant was doing what elephants do, walking through its own habitat and from the sounds of it, minding it's own business. The people in the car were obviously getting too close to the elephant or had followed it for far too long which had either annoyed the elephant or more than likely had made it nervous so it went on the defensive and that was to attack the car as that was the culprit and probably not in the elephants eyes the people within it, so the fact that the woman got hurt was because she was in the car that was closely following the elephant.

Should the elephant have been shot, no way, I think Kruger only shot it to try and save face and to keep tourists coming to the park, they were more than likely scared people would stay away because they had a so called mad elephant roaming the park. This poor elephant lost it's life because of these stupid people who obviously followed it too closely and for too long, I believe it was the elephants natural defence that triggered the attack on the car, not the people within it but it was the people that caused it.

For the park to say if they hadn't shot it the elephant may do it again or turn on another bull that is ludicrous, If other cars keep their distance and don't follow for too long I would imagine they would have been fine and as for it turning on another bull, we all know that elephants will challenge each other and sometimes to the death, that is nature, so I don't understand why the park has come out with those statements apart from the fact they are trying to save face and prosecution and also to keep tourists coming to the park, the elephant has been made an innocent scapegoat.

If you are to tour Kruger then do so in an acceptable jeep, employ a guide and if you are going solo then know the rules about animals and the possible danger and consequences and if you don't then take full responsibility for them, don't blame an innocent animal.

Do I feel sorry for the people, not really, they should have known better and if they didn't, then they shouldn't have been there in the first place. They have caused the death of this elephant.

littlewid-x-

Thanks for finding and sharing that Doogs.  I admit it shows a completely different side to the incident and I sincerely apologise for my previous misguided comment.  Unfortunately it shows the power of the internet and just how one side of a story is never enough.

I hope Sarah makes a full and speedy recovery and that the people in the car who filmed the incident feel remorse, it is quite unbelievable that they didn't stop to check if Sarah and Jans were okay.  To say people are strange is an understatement.

Thanks Doogs - I am relieved to know the whole story.

I too can vouch for bull elephants and their aggression and just how lucky we were whilst riding. Eles have my deepest respect and I am never comfortable being too close to them.

Lai

  totally Doogs. Humans are an odd bunch, fancy just leaving the scene it is beyond belief.

Also I agree about your third paragraph - it just goes to show we always need to know the whole story!

Lai

Oh Boy, I genuinely apologies too about saying I didn't feel sorry for them as it was their fault for being too close to the elephant and causing his death. That is horrendous and they obviously were not in the wrong and were trying to do all they could to get out of the situation. Reading that account just makes what happened to them hit home and how those people in the car behind them just left them I do not know. You can hear them laughing though at the situation and being more interested in getting it filmed, it's disgusting to say the least.

The rangers did the right thing in shooting the elephant after what he had done and the state he was in, he was obviously not just an elephant minding his own business and got spooked by idiots being too close like I had thought from the previous edited article.........how awful do I feel for my thoughts about the couple who went through that. Receiving death threats though is just not on, that is truly sick.

I don't really know what to say apart from I am so sorry for saying I didn't care about the couple for what they had done to the elephant, in future don't judge or comment until you know the full story or know its from a reliable source.

My sincere apologies to that couple and thank you so much for finding that article and posting it Doogs.

littlewid-x-

I also read this in the Daily Mail today, and was going to put it on, thanks for doing it Doogs.
I would like to offer my sincere apologies to Sarah Brookes, and her boyfriend. As the others gave said on here, the comments were made based on the article, and the edited Video. The villians were the people in the vehicle behind, who filmed the incident,then edited it to make it look as though the car was a lot closer than it was. I dont blame them for not trying to intervene that would have been suicde, but they certainly could have alerted the rangers, and stayed a safe distance away to try to offer help after. Their comments that they thought the couple were dead, and they had'nt got room in the car, were absolutely appaling. The jounalists were also in fault, in not verifying the story first, as was the Park Manager with his statement that the Elephant shot because it was getting cranky with other male Elephants, everyone knows that, that sort of thing happens naturaly in the wild, that was bound to upset wildlife lovers. If he had said it was because once an Elephant attacked a vehicle it was liable to do it again, then that would have been understandable, even if it was not known at the time it was shot that it had infected wounds. I am really glad that Sarah is now recovering, and that they both survived the attack, and once again apologise for the comments inadvertantly made, and hope that if she has seen this topic we have not added to her distress.

WS