'Irritated' elephant kills man
2007-05-08 16:29
Harare - An elephant trampled a 48-year-old man to death in western Zimbabwe while his wife and son looked on helplessly, reported the state-controlled Herald newspaper on Tuesday.
The attack occurred on Sunday near Mushumbi Pools in Zimbabwe's wildlife-rich Zambezi Valley, days after a buffalo gored three people to death in the same area.
The man, Mendas Muzerengeni, was killed when he and his 17-year-old son tried to scare some elephants away from their fields, said police spokesperson Michael Munyikwa.
One of the elephants got irritated and turned on Muzerengeni, said the report. The elephant dragged him for 300m.
This is the latest in a string of deadly attacks by wild animals in Zimbabwe.
Last week, a married couple working in their cotton field in Mushumbi were killed by a rogue buffalo.
The buffalo went on to later kill a 25-year-old man who was gathering firewood in the same area.
In other recent attacks, two British tourists, a mother and her 10-year-old daughter, were trampled to death by an elephant in Hwange in March.
In Mwenzi district, a crocodile killed and ate a young boy last month.
A young Australian diplomat on her first overseas posting was badly mauled by lions at Harare's Lion and Cheetah Park in early April while her boyfriend watched helplessly.
Sapa-dpa
- SAPA