Tourist killed by herd of elephants at Sirheni Bushveld Camp in Kruger

[Whit]

Yup. An old girlfriend told stories of her family’s safari expeditions, and waking in the middle of the night to see elephant, stepping amongst them, often within mere feet. Quite a moment.

 

[C.W. Richter]

If I could offer one piece of advice to the planet, it would be this: Don't marry for looks alone, and I'll tell you why. In a few years, when Barbara's boobs start sagging, she can get plastic surgery, have them lifted, move the nipple wherever. You can actually go to a titty bar, pick out a set of titties and say, "I want those titties on that woman." If her belly gets too big, she can get a tummy tuck and have a belly like a cheerleader. If her vision goes bad, you can have LASIK surgery and have 20/20 vision. If her hearing goes bad, they can install a device in her ear that will give you hearing as clear as it was the day you were born. But let me tell you something, folks: You can't fix stupid. There's not a pill you can take; there's not a class you can go to. Stupid is forever. -- Ron White

But, quite possibly, the tired husband pulled off a "reverse Francis Macomber!" Ron White is the Peter Capstick of Comedy. lol

 

[cajunchefray]

View attachment 684508

I realize not all men grew up around livestock, but for those of us who did, it gives an appreciation for the immense strength and often unpredictable nature of animals, even "tame," domesticated ones.

Worse, many (most) western women have been trained they do not need to listen to us.

Very well stated. The unpredictable nature of beasts must be experienced to understand.
God rest her soul.
I would hate to go out that way.

 

[Flbt]

If I could offer one piece of advice to the planet, it would be this: Don't marry for looks alone, and I'll tell you why. In a few years, when Barbara's boobs start sagging, she can get plastic surgery, have them lifted, move the nipple wherever. You can actually go to a titty bar, pick out a set of titties and say, "I want those titties on that woman." If her belly gets too big, she can get a tummy tuck and have a belly like a cheerleader. If her vision goes bad, you can have LASIK surgery and have 20/20 vision. If her hearing goes bad, they can install a device in her ear that will give you hearing as clear as it was the day you were born. But let me tell you something, folks: You can't fix stupid. There's not a pill you can take; there's not a class you can go to. Stupid is forever. -- Ron White

That’s what a good life insurance policy for

 

[Flbt]

View attachment 684508

I realize not all men grew up around livestock, but for those of us who did, it gives an appreciation for the immense strength and often unpredictable nature of animals, even "tame," domesticated ones.

Worse, many (most) western women have been trained they do not need to listen to us.

As a kid I saw a 1/2 grown angus bull get mad at the water kettle and just flip it right over.
Said water kettle was a cast iron 200 gallon syrup kettle full of water and sat down in a tractor tire
It was no more to that bull than knocking over a solo cup would be to you

 

[Franco]

Why is my first response, "Bet she was wearing Birkenstocks" instead of, "Oh my - how tragic."

 

[Tug]

Agreed, hard lesson learned - Like the woman who rolled down her window on the "lion safari" a few years back and was pulled out of the Landcruiser and eaten in front of her family.

Most western women have grown up in such safe conditions they simply cannot comprehend the ramifications of being around dangerous animals..... either two or four legged.


Well said, being raised in a nearly consequence free environment has regressed the natural fear that everyone should have.

I petted a European bison before, and I hear the Europeans are much nicer than the Americans.....

It was one of the friendliest animals I've ever met, however, it was behind a fence, and I was feeding it cabbage leaves.

 

[Betterinthebush]

When I drive up to Alaska I always went out of my way to drive through Glacier, Banff, and Jasper. Not anymore. It makes me sick with anxiety watching the “tuorons” harassing the animals (and I do mean harassing). I once witnessed a couple drag their terrified crying children toward a black bear for a picture. Remarkable stupidity.

The best part of the trip now is after Liard Hot Springs going north. After Liard, the Al-Can is primarily filled with veterans of the trip and I can really enjoy viewing the bison, bear, moose, mountain caribou etc. without the national park drama and unsafe behavior of suburbians.

Hate that this woman was killed. I hate it for her family more. I’m one of the weird ones that think that NP’s treating the land and animals like zoo attractions harm both the animals/environment and the tourists that have a false sense of security because they are in a “park”

 

[Altitude sickness]

We have stayed in a few lodges inside of Kruger and the threat is real. pretty much every African animal that can kill you is within striking distance. We were not on the typical tour we drove around on our own.

 

[Hogpatrol]

I can hear it now, "But nobody warned us". Other than that, Darwin got it right.

If I could offer one piece of advice to the planet, it would be this: Don't marry for looks alone, and I'll tell you why. In a few years, when Barbara's boobs start sagging, she can get plastic surgery, have them lifted, move the nipple wherever. You can actually go to a titty bar, pick out a set of titties and say, "I want those titties on that woman." If her belly gets too big, she can get a tummy tuck and have a belly like a cheerleader. If her vision goes bad, you can have LASIK surgery and have 20/20 vision. If her hearing goes bad, they can install a device in her ear that will give you hearing as clear as it was the day you were born. But let me tell you something, folks: You can't fix stupid. There's not a pill you can take; there's not a class you can go to. Stupid is forever. -- Ron White

When in close proximity, wild animals can fix it.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

You can never be too careful around Eles - day or night.

I once woke up sleeping on a mattress under the stars with the LC at my head and a fire at my feet. About 4 am, a large herd of elephants came walking by and thank goodness they smelled smoke and veered around our "sleeping quarters." I could barely make out their shapes as they walked by and they hardly made a noise outside of some crunching leaves going on. I have always wondered what would have happened if the fire had went out and they got too close before we both would have startled ourselves.

Animals can smell fire long after it's gone out. Nothing pissed me off more than asshole campers who erected their long defunct fire rings in the middle of the trail. Always made for a not-entertaining rodeo trying to get my pack stock around them.

I shot my first elk in 1971. Had to leave it overnight to go for horses (actually two nights). The country was crawling with grizzlies so I built three small fires around the quarters (no way to hang them). Everything was still okay the next day. The guy who was with me blew out his knee so he had to ride out and the front quarters stayed behind wrapped in canvas. Then a storm arrived with very cold temps. It was two weeks before I could get back up there. And what do I see when I dropped over the top but a very large grizzly track in the snow headed straight for my elk. Oh boy! I'm only armed with an old worn out Smith police 38 that shaved lead. About thirty yards from the meat the tracks veered downhill. I followed them long enough to see that the bear came back on line once it was past the carcass.

The greater risk to meat is damn birds. Hang a hunter orange vest and string some orange flagging tape to flap in the breeze. Works every time.

 

[Bandera]

Some people make the mistake of thinking animals in a park are friendly. A bunch of people I have talked to think Elephants, Zebra and other critters are cute. That there is no way they would harm anybody. That Zebra is cute right till the time it damn near bites your arm off and then stomps the crap out of you.
Mistakes were made stupid tax paid.

 

[skydiver386]

View attachment 684508

I realize not all men grew up around livestock, but for those of us who did, it gives an appreciation for the immense strength and often unpredictable nature of animals, even "tame," domesticated ones.

Worse, many (most) western women have been trained they do not need to listen to us.

The sexist attitude toward men from women doesn't stop there. Several men have been sued by women they helped or rescued.

Horrible things will inevitably happen to women because men are no longer willing to put themselves at risk. An accusation of sexual harassment or sexual assault can get a man fired from his job, end his marriage, etc., even if he is totally innocent.

A hundred years ago men would have made every attempt to protect another human being from death, even if it meant they themselves might be killed. At a minimum, they would have felt horrible for the victim, and expressed that sentiment publicly. No more.

If a man told the wrong woman that African wildlife may be dangerous, he could be accused of "Man-splaining".

Like it or not, a century of Western feminism that punishes men for "Toxic Masculinity" was bound to lead to this.

 

[Franco]

I can hear it now, "But nobody warned us". Other than that, Darwin got it right.

When in close proximity, wild animals can fix it.

Disney gave them names, personalities, and portrayed them as compassionate and caring; Steiff made them soft and "cuddley". As a child, who didn't want to sit atop the lion on the merry-go-round?

Our society is infected with people who boast of their political correctness, and put "virtue signaling" at the forefront of their every day lives. They become enraged if referred to by an improper pronoun, believe men can have babies, and buy their children litter boxes if they identify as cats. For them, the sex of a child is not determined at birth by standard equipment, they are "going to let the child decide".

Shop classes have been replaced with diversity training and Drag Queen Story Hour.

The concept of responsibility for one's actions with the realization of consequences has been replaced by entitlement, and the utterance of "I'm offended" grants immediate absolution.

Their thoughts of a particular concept or situation go no farther than to feel good about themselves.

Human/animal interaction such as this almost always end in the same manner - dead human. The event is labeled "tragic", and the dead human is now the "victim".

As evidenced by some of the comments posted on this forum, mine included, our reactions are predictable and along similar lines: Well - no sh*t, What was she thinking?, F around and find out, all saying what we know to be true. These are wild animals, they behave instinctively, and people - listen closely here: They did NOT watch "The Lion King", they did NOT have cuddley little human toys to share their bed, they couldn't care less about a selfie, and if you're not something to mate or eat - you're a threat which must be killed or avoided.

The tragedy of this event lies in the misinterpretation of the actual victim, it isn't the woman - it's the elephants. It will be interesting to see how this develops, will it be as simple as - "She shouldn't have done what she did", or will the response reflect a more sensitive nature catering to indignant cries of, "She just wanted the experience of being among them".

This complete misunderstanding of what goes on in the real world is what we as hunters continually face.

How can we possibly think to reason with these people and convince them of the benefits of hunting?

 

[Munnik]

As a nature guide, I am often guiding in national parks such as Kruger, Addo, Kgalagadi and others.

Sometimes I notice people leaving their vehicles, even though this is absolutely forbidden. People sit in the open window of the door so they can see over the roof of the vehicle. Others feed the animals. All this is strictly forbidden, but it happens again and again.

If something happens to such people, they don't have my sympathy.

 

[ftrovato]

Go to Yellowstone National Park in the USA. You will see countless stupid people every day wandering toward wildlife to take a picture.

There are countless video examples on YouTube of people approaching bison....

Can't fix stupid!

 

[Hunt anything]

Go to Yellowstone National Park in the USA. You will see countless stupid people every day wandering toward wildlife to take a picture.

There are countless video examples on YouTube of people approaching bison....

Can't fix stupid!

Mother nature does her best!

 

[Malambo]

We as humans like animals, we have many of them as pets.
Who of us can deny that we enjoy holding a lion cub?
I am not saying that is ok to be stupid, just let's not be so cruel with the unfortunate

 

[Franco]

We as humans like animals, we have many of them as pets.
Who of us can deny that we enjoy holding a lion cub?
I am not saying that is ok to be stupid, just let's not be so cruel with the unfortunate

Sir,

While I don't disagree with your reference to pets and hugging a lion cub, and with respect to each of us entitled to our own opinion - I don't believe we are being cruel.

Our reactions may appear callous to those outside our community; but we as hunters are by nature, realists.

Hugging a lion cub and thinking we can safely approach a full grown lion in the bush is not a logical progression. Just because algebraic law says 1 + 2 = 3 is the same as 2 + 1 = 3, it ain't so in nature!

I will accept my comments as insensitive, the reality is - they are intended to be.

During my career in aviation I served as a pilot, mechanic, instructor, and check airman. I flew airplanes, gliders, helicopters, balloons, and airships; in addition to the airline, I spent 30 years flying a wide variety of WWII aircraft on the airshow circuit. In that time I gave and received 100's of checkrides and debriefs.

I will say this; if the possible result of your or my action is injury or death to yourself or others - the last thing to be concerned about is feelings. If a person, me included, can't take criticism they are in the wrong sandbox and need to get out.

The only cruelty I see in this situation would be to not make an example of what happened in hopes of preventing others from making the same error in judgement.

Were it possible for the woman in this event to have a "look back", realizing the outcome of her decision, and one of us standing beside her telling her what she was about to do was stupid - I doubt she would view it as cruel.

 

[Russ16]

Sir,

While I don't disagree with your reference to pets and hugging a lion cub, and with respect to each of us entitled to our own opinion - I don't believe we are being cruel.

Our reactions may appear callous to those outside our community; but we as hunters are by nature, realists.

Hugging a lion cub and thinking we can safely approach a full grown lion in the bush is not a logical progression. Just because algebraic law says 1 + 2 = 3 is the same as 2 + 1 = 3, it ain't so in nature!

I will accept my comments as insensitive, the reality is - they are intended to be.

During my career in aviation I served as a pilot, mechanic, instructor, and check airman. I flew airplanes, gliders, helicopters, balloons, and airships; in addition to the airline, I spent 30 years flying a wide variety of WWII aircraft on the airshow circuit. In that time I gave and received 100's of checkrides and debriefs.

I will say this; if the possible result of your or my action is injury or death to yourself or others - the last thing to be concerned about is feelings. If a person, me included, can't take criticism they are in the wrong sandbox and need to get out.

The only cruelty I see in this situation would be to not make an example of what happened in hopes of preventing others from making the same error in judgement.

Were it possible for the woman in this event to have a "look back", realizing the outcome of her decision, and one of us standing beside her telling her what she was about to do was stupid - I doubt she would view it as cruel.

I don’t disagree. But there is a lot of assuming going on here about why she was out and what her motives were.

As I stated earlier many people sleep walk or become disoriented. I would not be at all surprised if an elderly woman became confused when sleeping in a strange place after a flight halfway around the world.

I agree with most of the sentiments here about the problems that come with lack of knowledge and respect for wildlife. But it is mere speculation to assume that is what motivated this woman. It could have been any number of things.