Big Game Hunter Killed When Shot Elephant Collapses on Top of Him

New York Post ^ | May 22, 2017 | Ruth Brown

[nickcarraway]

SNIP

A professional hunter was killed when an elephant that had just been shot fell on top of him, according to reports.

South African big-game bagger Theunis Botha, 51, was leading a hunt in Zimbabwe on Friday when his group accidentally walked into the path of a herd of breeding elephants near Hwange National Park and three of the elephant cows charged at them, the Telegraph reports.

Botha fired at the rampaging pack but was caught by surprise when a fourth cow came in from the side and picked him up with her trunk.

SNIP

[Still Thinking]

Bet he doesn’t ever do that again! I hate when I do that.

[KevinB]

I am having a hard time finding sympathy for the fate of this gentleman.

[Simon Foxx]

One only regrets that every single member of his party wasn’t trampled to death.

[Sirius Lee]

...was caught by surprise>

He was pressed for time.

[Dilbert San Diego]

Why?

[MUDDOG]

He should’ve took his mum.

[real saxophonist]

Should have read a few books by Peter Hathaway Capstick.

[thinden]

Darwin award nominee

[CondorFlight]

What’s the point of going out with modern weapons to kill a beautiful animal, just to say you did it (IE, not for food)?

[wally_bert]

Me too.

[Aria]

He was a man but he wasn’t gentle. I see no sport in shooting unarmed animals.

[Puppage]

[Delta 21]

Elephant orgies are best left to themselves. You try to get involved in that mess? Someones gonna end up dead.

[Wyrd bið ful aræd]

It's still very challenging and dangerous (as this case shows). Regulated safari hunting provides the money African countries use to maintain the herds and the habitats they need. If not for professional hunters such as this gentleman, many of these species would very likely be on the verge of extinction, if not extinct already.

So, the point is that it's a challenging endeavor, and the money spent maintains the existence of these animals.

[Timpanagos1]

“South African big-game bagger Thesis Botha...”

His name and nationality makes the story much more interesting.

[Wyrd bið ful aræd]

"I see no sport in shooting unarmed animals."

Do you only hunt the armed ones, or...?

[Lexington Green]

“You’re wrong. kid. It’s not a crime to kill an elephant. It’s bigger than all that. It’s a sin to kill an elephant. You understand? It’s the only sin you can go out and buy a license for and go out and commit…. Do you understand me? Of course, you don’t. I don’t even understand myself.” — 1990 film“White Hunter, Black Heart”

[SMARTY]

How could anyone kill an elephant

[nickcarraway]

Yes, I wondered about that.