Gary Freeman, 65, was leading a group of tourists on a guided hike when he brandished his revolver to try to scare off the animal but did not pull the trigger.
If he was only equipped with a revolver, its only use would have been to put it to his own head before the elephant could reach him!
Judy Connors, from Johannesburg, attended Mr Freeman's safari camp at Klaserie in February, writing on Facebook: 'In the past we have heard Gary speak of his deep respect and love for the elephants. 'He said he would rather be killed by an elephant than shoot one. 'Perhaps this is what I want to believe but there must have been a special bond, soul-to-soul, for this elephant to be the chosen one tasked with his deliverance.'
This is the sort of nonsense I expect from Greens and little children.
Another friend, Thomas Marshall, said: 'I had the pleasure of joining Gary three times on his wilderness hikes and he was totally at one with nature and told the most amazing stories around the camp-fire. 'The word legend is much abused but he truly was one.'
I wonder in his final moments if he regretted being ‘at one with’ such nature?
Though he died on April 9, the circumstances of Mr Freeman's death have just emerged and police in Limpopo Province have opened an inquest into the episode.It is understood no action has been taken against the elephant but experts have been called in to study its behaviour and assess its threat to others.
In any era but this one, there would be no question whether or not to cull it.
Brandishing a tool like a gun is only of use to something that recognises what it is, knows what it can do to it and has the fear that it will make it lose the fight. Shooting elephants with a pistol isn't a guarantee.
ReplyDeleteDarwin wins again.
I like the comment 'no action has been taken against the elephant'. They could have at least fined it or rubbed it's trunk in the pool of blood. I'm not for automatically killing these animals unless we know it is just a killer. We should find out the circumstances and then decide on its, err, punishment.
Brandishing a revolver (or indeed any small arm) but not discharging it might work to dissuade a human from attacking you, but how is an elephant supposed to know what a gun is? And if you are responsible for "guiding" tourists in areas frequented by large, dangerous animals, I'd recommend something a bit bigger, like a full bore rifle.
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