Fatshimetry
An American tourist was killed by an elephant in the Zambian town of Livingstone on Wednesday – in the second such attack in the country this year – local officials said.
Officials said Friday that Juliana Gle Tourneau, 64, was killed when an elephant that was part of a herd that tourists were watching attacked their vehicle, knocking Tourneau to the ground and then trampling her.
She was part of a group that had stopped near the Maramba Cultural Bridge due to traffic caused by the herd of elephants near the bridge, they added.
“Juliana Gle Tourneau, 64, of New Mexico, United States of America, died around 5:50 p.m. Wednesday after she was ejected from a parked vehicle that had stopped due to elephant traffic near the Maramba Cultural Bridge,” Southern Province Police Commissioner Auxensio Daka told Zambian national television, ZNBC.
It is the second such attack this year, after another American tourist was killed in March this year during a safari in a Zambian national park when an elephant charged a truck, overturning it , killed the tourist and injured five other people.
Zambian authorities have called on tourists to exercise extreme caution when viewing wildlife across the country.
Juliana Gle Tourneau’s tragic story recalls the beauty but also the dangers of the interaction between man and wild nature. Elephants, majestic and imposing, can become unpredictable and potentially dangerous in certain circumstances. This terrible news should prompt reflection on the preservation of the environment and the need to respect wildlife.
It is essential that Zambian authorities put measures in place to ensure the safety of tourists while preserving the natural habitat of elephants and other wildlife. Educating visitors on appropriate behavior around wildlife is also crucial to avoiding such tragedies in the future.
Ultimately, this tragedy highlights the importance of peaceful and respectful coexistence between humans and wildlife. It is up to each of us to help protect these wonderful creatures and harmoniously share the natural space that is also their home.