Trophy hunter dies after wounded elephant crushes him in Zimbabwe

[TomSea]

Trophy hunter dies after wounded elephant crushes him in Zimbabwe
Published May 22, 2017
Fox News

A big game hunter died Friday in Zimbabwe when a member of his hunting group fired their gun at an elephant striking it and causing it to fall on him.  (Reuters)

The group had gone for a walk in the afternoon when three elephants stormed the group, News 24 reported. A fourth elephant stormed the group from the side and was shot. The animal grabbed Theunis Botha with its trunk, but collapsed and fell on him after being shot.

Continued: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/05/22/trophy-hunter-dies-after-wounded-elephant-crushes-him-in-zimbabwe.html

[DB]

Does the elephants clan get their stuffed trophy? Seems only fair.

[EC]

Karma really can be a bitch.

[Gefn]

Karma really can be a bitch.

Amen, and no one messes with Babar!

[driftdiver]

In many places in Africa the only source of money to protect the animals comes from hunters.  Without it the parks would disappear and the poachers would have free reign.

[Cripplecreek]

That almost never happens to rabbit hunters.

[EC]

[driftdiver]

Karma really can be a bitch.

They were hunting leopards not elephants.  They only shot the elephant when it attacked them.

According to your theory elephants are also the product of 3 billion years of evolution and should act like it.

[EC]

They were hunting leopards not elephants.  They only shot the elephant when it attacked them.

According to your theory elephants are also the product of 3 billion years of evolution and should act like it.

They are and they do.

[Cripplecreek]

They were hunting leopards not elephants.  They only shot the elephant when it attacked them.

According to your theory elephants are also the product of 3 billion years of evolution and should act like it.

I'm not a fan of Elephant hunting since they have a high order of intelligence or sentience, however this does appear to be self defense.

That said, elephants can be a major problem if their populations aren't controlled. They can obviously be dangerous. They destroy crops in a matter of hours. They are actually capable of changing the physical characteristics of their environment by wiping out forests. Its believed that much of Africa's arid grassland was created by large populations of elephants. Personally I'd like to see populations controlled by other means but I'm not going to volunteer to fit a condom on a bull elephant.

Personally I think African nations would do well to export the meat of numerous animals like Giraffes, Wildebeast, and various antelopes and deer.

[driftdiver]

I'm not a fan of Elephant hunting since they have a high order of intelligence or sentience, however this does appear to be self defense.

That said, elephants can be a major problem if their populations aren't controlled. They can obviously be dangerous. They destroy crops in a matter of hours. They are actually capable of changing the physical characteristics of their environment by wiping out forests. Its believed that much of Africa's arid grassland was created by large populations of elephants. Personally I'd like to see populations controlled by other means but I'm not going to volunteer to fit a condom on a bull elephant.

Personally I think African nations would do well to export the meat of numerous animals like Giraffes, Wildebeast, and various antelopes and deer.

@Cripplecreek

I'm not a fan either.  However, in some places they have way to many.  As you said they devastate crops and the forests.   They don't have any money to manage them and sell hunting rights to raise money.   Without the hunters the elephants would be in a much more dire situation.

[skeeter]

The animal grabbed Theunis Botha with its trump, but collapsed and fell on him after being shot.

No doubt he'll be tweeting about this tonight.

[Cripplecreek]

@Cripplecreek

I'm not a fan either.  However, in some places they have way to many.  As you said they devastate crops and the forests.   They don't have any money to manage them and sell hunting rights to raise money.   Without the hunters the elephants would be in a much more dire situation.

The situation is largely the fault of the "civilized" world not accepting hunted animals as a legitimate source of food or sense of superiority gained by keeping others in stone age poverty in the name of heritage.

I was surprised at the reactions at TOS to the idea of eating giraffe or any other of the African herd animals. About half were horrified at the idea apparently for no other reason than they're in Africa and not here.

[Silver Pines]

Good.

Leopards or elephants, I'm just fine with the outcome.

[Wingnut]

Ode to Theunis
A pancake is generally flat,
And round, if you make it like that.
But sometimes you can
Shape a fine pancake man,
If an elephant makes him go splat.

[driftdiver]

Good.

Leopards or elephants, I'm just fine with the outcome.

How about if it were a deer?    Or maybe a cow?   Chickens?

[Silver Pines]

How about if it were a deer?    Or maybe a cow?   Chickens?

@driftdiver

I'm the first one to admit I'm not consistent on this issue.  Ever since I was a little kid, I've loved animals, especially big cats and elephants.  If I had it to do over, I would be a zoologist and I would work with one of the two. 

It's not entirely an emotional issue with me, however, since I do recognize the fact that there are many more deer, cows, and chickens than there are elephants and leopards.  Killing for food is one thing; I'm an enthusiastic carnivore.  I don't have any patience with trophy hunting.

[driftdiver]

@driftdiver

@CatherineofAragon
I'm the first one to admit I'm not consistent on this issue.  Ever since I was a little kid, I've loved animals, especially big cats and elephants.  If I had it to do over, I would be a zoologist and I would work with one of the two. 

It's not entirely an emotional issue with me, however, since I do recognize the fact that there are many more deer, cows, and chickens than there are elephants and leopards.  Killing for food is one thing; I'm an enthusiastic carnivore.  I don't have any patience with trophy hunting.

How about if that trophy hunting funds care for the animals who would otherwise perish?   I'm not a trophy hunter either but recognize that in some areas animals such as elephants and the big cats can be a problem.  They werent hunting elephants though, they were attacked by the elephants.

If the big cats weren't so valuable to big game hunters the locals would probably kill all of them to protect their families and livestock.

[DCPatriot]

It's a fact that African game preserves will eventually have to cull a herd on the preserve, to keep the ecological balance.

Rather than euthanize them, they advertise for trophy hunters to do the job.   ....at a very high expense to the hunter.  We're not talking ten grand either.

As @driftdiver just stated, it cost $$$ to run the preserve and care for the other animals.

     

[Smokin Joe]

@driftdiver

Killing for food is one thing; I'm an enthusiastic carnivore.  I don't have any patience with trophy hunting.

This, though in this case, it is the trophy seekers who finance the effort to protect and manage the numbers of the more exotic species. If those species had no perceived economic value, they likely would have been extinct by now.

[Fishrrman]

Sounds like a fair fight to me.

I hope the elephant recovers.

[Silver Pines]

How about if that trophy hunting funds care for the animals who would otherwise perish?   I'm not a trophy hunter either but recognize that in some areas animals such as elephants and the big cats can be a problem.  They werent hunting elephants though, they were attacked by the elephants.

If the big cats weren't so valuable to big game hunters the locals would probably kill all of them to protect their families and livestock.

@driftdiver

I don't know about any of that and there's no way I'll ever like it. 

[geronl]

Carefully controlled populations of these kinds of animals is good for the animals and the habitat, it also gives money to the local economy and these countries are desperately poor.

I wouldn't do it, but that's me.

[Smokin Joe]

@driftdiver

I don't know about any of that and there's no way I'll ever like it.

It is population management, though. "Sound practice" to keep the numbers limited to a range the area can theoretically support. More than that and the animal/human problems increase, and that means people will kill off the animals, whether they threaten villages or destroy crops. It is a (and I hate the word, as used lately) sustainable balance, one which preserves an ecosystem. Unfortunately that means the area must be patrolled for poachers and the animals tracked to understand their habits. That takes money, and the trade off is that the herd gets trimmed in sanctioned hunts which have very expensive permit fees which support the management of game and non-game species alike. The hunter gets the trophy, the village gets the meat.
Trophy hunters of means have a lawful and regulated opportunity to sate their wishes, which keeps them from going to the poachers.

We have something similar, here, in that when the herd gets large enough, one, and just one bighorn permit is auctioned off in this state, open to anyone, anywhere. that one ram permit (no guarantees) can bring in $50,000 which goes toward game management in the state.
The permits for major game in Africa can run from mid five figures and up, a fortune in Africa.
Like it or not, it is what works best, under the circumstances.

I'm no fan of trophy hunting, either, personally. When other guys were out hunting for a deer with big antlers, I was looking for a large, fat, spike buck who'd fill the larder. I'd hear them whine about 'the one that got away', and go home and eat venison.

[Silver Pines]

It is population management, though. "Sound practice" to keep the numbers limited to a range the area can theoretically support. More than that and the animal/human problems increase, and that means people will kill off the animals, whether they threaten villages or destroy crops. It is a (and I hate the word, as used lately) sustainable balance, one which preserves an ecosystem. Unfortunately that means the area must be patrolled for poachers and the animals tracked to understand their habits. That takes money, and the trade off is that the herd gets trimmed in sanctioned hunts which have very expensive permit fees which support the management of game and non-game species alike. The hunter gets the trophy, the village gets the meat.
Trophy hunters of means have a lawful and regulated opportunity to sate their wishes, which keeps them from going to the poachers.

We have something similar, here, in that when the herd gets large enough, one, and just one bighorn permit is auctioned off in this state, open to anyone, anywhere. that one ram permit (no guarantees) can bring in $50,000 which goes toward game management in the state.
The permits for major game in Africa can run from mid five figures and up, a fortune in Africa.
Like it or not, it is what works best, under the circumstances.

I'm no fan of trophy hunting, either, personally. When other guys were out hunting for a deer with big antlers, I was looking for a large, fat, spike buck who'd fill the larder. I'd hear them whine about 'the one that got away', and go home and eat venison.

@Smokin Joe

Joe, it might be a lot of things, but, like I said, my love for these animals goes way back to my early childhood.  I'm not going to suddenly now say, "Yay for killing leopard and elephants!"  Not going to happen.

Is it emotional?  Hell yes, it is.  We all have our emotional hot buttons, and this is one of mine.