Elephant hunter trampled to death by elephant

fuad lawal

April 17, 2015 10:40 PM

Gibson, a professional big game hunter, had been stalking the elephant for five hours with his client. According to a statement published online by the company, Gibson was tailing the elephant to get a better look at its ivory when it broke into "full charge."

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Ian Gibson, an employee of Safari Classics Production, died Wednesday after an African bull elephant trampled him in Zimbabwe's Chewore North, in the lower Zambezi Valley.

Gibson's tracker, who had accompanied him, managed to fire one shot at the elephant before the fatal encounter.

"The scene was very graphic," the description concluded.

The statement suggested the animal had been in musth, a period of hormonal changes in male elephants where testosterone levels can be 40 to 60 times more elevated than during non-musth periods. During musth, elephants are known to be especially prone to aggression and attack.

Far from just elephants, the company also offers packages targeting elephants, crocodiles, leopards, waterbucks, hippopotami and many others.

Chifuti claims hunting has long been misunderstood and misrepresented by activists. In Zimbabwe, for example, where Gibson was killed, there are nearly 100,000 African elephants, which the company claims is far in excess of what the environment can support.

However the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Red List lists the African elephant as "vulnerable," just one step up from "endangered." Central Africa has lost 64% of its elephants in the last 10 years.

While Gibson's death might be cause for smug schadenfreude from activists, it shouldn't be. Being trampled to death by a wild animal is a horrible way to go. On the other hand, between 2010 and 2012 100,000 African elephants were also killed by hunters, which was also certainly not very pleasant for them either. If more elephants received the same attention now being heaped on Gibson, fewer of these majestic creatures would be hunted for sport and this article might never have been written.

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