A US tourist from New Mexico was killed by an elephant in Zambia on Wednesday after it attacked her vehicle while parked during a safari drive in Zambia.
This comes as Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana have raised concerns about increasing elephant populations in their respective countries, which has resulted in rising cases of human-wildlife conflict.
According to BBC, the elephant pulled Juliana Gle Tourneau, 64, out of the vehicle and trampled her.
Tourneau was with a group that had stopped near the Maramba Cultural Bridge in Livingstone due to traffic from an elephant herd when one of the animals attacked.
This marks the second fatal elephant attack on a US tourist in Zambia after Gail Mattson, a 79-year-old woman from Minnesota, was killed during a game drive in the Kafue National Park in March.
Video of the attack later emerged and showed an elephant charging towards the vehicle. None of the vehicle’s occupants are seen in the video, but someone can be heard saying “Oh my goodness,” and “It’s coming fast”.
The vehicle stops and the elephant hooks its tusk onto the vehicle and it rolls several times. Mattson was killed in the incident and five other people were injured.
Rona Wells, Mattson’s daughter, wrote on Facebook that her mother died in a “tragic accident while on her dream adventure”.
Zimbabwe has also recorded deadly elephant attacks in recent years as climate change forces the animals to change their migratory patterns across southern Africa, leading to more cases of human-elephant conflict.
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