South African tourist dies after being trampled by elephant in Mana Pools

Posted by David Henning on 18 October 2021

Michael Bernard Walsh became the second person in the past week to be killed by an elephant in Zimbabwe.

The unfortunate incident took place at Mana Pools, a popular tourist attraction, only days after a conservationist died in a similar incident in another park.

Mana Pools is a popular destination thanks to its high concentration of wildlife, which includes large populations of elephants, hippos and crocodiles.

Micheal was a regular visitor to the area, and had been visiting Mana Pools almost every year for the past 35 years. According to ZimLive, Micheal and his son went for a morning walk On Thursday 14 September, before the incident occurred.

A female elephant charged the duo, where Micheal, who was 71 years old, was unfortunately too old to make it back to the car in time before being trampled by the elephant in full view of his son.

Zimbabwe’s national parks are reporting increased cases of human-wildlife conflict, with more than 40 people having died in parks and other rural areas in the past year, said  Tinashe Farawo, spokesman for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.

Much like other parts of Zimbabwe, Mana Pools experiences hot and dry conditions during this time of the year, with limited food and water sources for the wildlife. According to Farawo, elephants may forage into neighbouring human settlements in search of more food and water.

 

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