Elephant victim 'tresspassed'

2004-04-20 15:13

Johannesburg - The man who was apparently killed by an elephant in the Addo National Park was probably trespassing and may have been suffering from a mental disorder, a park official said on Tuesday.

Lucius Moolman, park manager at Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape, said the body of a man was discovered in the Nyathi concession area of the park on Saturday. He had been dead for some time.

Moolman said assistant section ranger Oupa Chauke had discovered the partly decomposed body of the man during a routine fence patrol.

The police were called and ruled out foul play.

The man was later identified as Monde Ngxwashula, a resident of Paterson.

"Mr Ngxwashula's family reported he went missing about one week ago.

"Police investigations revealed that he may have been suffering from a mental disorder," said Moolman.

Damage to vegetation in the area and Ngxwashula's injuries were consistent with an elephant cow attack, Moolman said. However, he could not account for the man's presence in the vicinity, as the general area was closed off.

"As the Nyathi concession area is surrounded with electric game fencing, it is not certain how the man gained entry into this 14 000ha area of the park," said Moolman. Speculation was that Ngxwashula had been collecting prickly pears at the time of the attack.

"We hope people will eventually understand that wild animals can be dangerous and no-one should enter or travel on foot in a national park without the necessary authorisation," said Moolman

This was the second report of a fatal elephant attack in recent times. Last week the manager of a walking trail in KwaZulu-Natal was killed when he was charged by an elephant, one of two, his group encountered as they set out on a four day wilderness hike.

- SAPA