KZN tourists escape elephant attack
11.8.2015 04.00 pm
http://citizen.co.za/445891/kzn-tourist ... nt-attack/
An unknown number of tourists visiting the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in KwaZulu-Natal had a close brush with mother nature after their car was charged at by an elephant on Tuesday morning.
Details of the incident are sketchy at this stage, but it is believed the elephant pushed the tourists the road in the iMfolozi section of the park, resulting in a massive tusk hole in the driver’s door of the vehicle, Zululand Observer reported.
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife spokesperson Musa Mntambo said: “We are still piecing together details surrounding the incident, but we want to take this opportunity to remind people that our park’s animals are wild and their behaviour can be unpredictable,”
Mntambo did, however, say they had received reports that no injuries were suffered as a result of the attack. He also urged people visiting the park to not get too close to the animals.
Last month, a leopard had to be euthanised after it attacked a tour guide in the Kruger National Park in Alpha Loop on the H4-1 just outside Skukuza Camp in Mpumalanga.
According to a statement by SANParks, the guide, Curtis Plumb, 38, was with about eight tourists on his vehicle and watching the leopard from about two metres away.
The animal disappeared momentarily and then suddenly leapt and grabbed Plumb’s arm while trying to jump into the vehicle.
“Everybody in the vehicle started hitting the leopard with any object they had with them. The leopard would not let go of the guide’s arm until a tourist from another vehicle rushed and repeatedly used his vehicle to scare off the leopard,” the statement read.
Plumb was later taken to hospital.