Rhino Poacher trampled to death by Elephants in South Africa

(The AEGIS Alliance) – A presumed rhinoceros poacher was stomped to death by a herd of elephants during mating season as he ran away from authorities together with 2 accused accomplices in South Africa’s Kruger National Park (KNP).

The 3 were detected by rangers out in the area while on regular patrols, the park stated. The rangers came across the three suspects, then the affirmed poachers dropped an axe as well as a bag packed with food and supplies and began running, KNP authorities said.

They ran directly into “a breeding herd of elephants,” the KNP stated.

One of the 3 was located and apprehended and informed authorities he had not been certain whether his accomplice had actually gotten away from the elephants. As it turns out, he did not.

“The Rangers discovered his accomplice badly trampled and unfortunately succumbed to his injuries,” the park stated. “The third suspect is said to have been injured in the eye but continued to flee.”

Authorities confiscated a rifle, then referred the situation to the police.

“We are proud of the teamwork and dedication of our Rangers Corp, our aviators, and the K9 unit,” KNP managing executive Gareth Coleman stated in a press release from the park. “It is unfortunate that a life was unnecessarily lost. Only through discipline, teamwork, and tenacity will we be able to help stem the tide of rhino poaching in KNP.”

Authorities are still looking for the third suspect, and Coleman asked for the general public to assist them in locating him or passing along any kind of details they find.

Elephant poaching is widespread throughout Africa, with tens of thousands killed each year for their ivory tusks which can be sculpted into accessories as well as fashion jewellery, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature. The populace decreased from 1.3 million to 600,000 from 1979 to 1987, the University of Washington’s Center for Conservation Biology found.

Poachers were initially detected at KNP in 2015, National Geographic reported.

“The campaign against poaching is the responsibility of all us,” Coleman stated in the press release. “It threatens many livelihoods, destroys families, and takes much-needed resources to fight crime which could be used for creating jobs and development.”

Kyle James Lee – The AEGIS Alliance – This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.