KNP guides save man from raging elephant

THE Kruger National Park reported that two field guides, Gordon Ramsden and Mphadeni Nthangeni, saved the life of a British tourist after an elephant attacked him and a group of predominantly foreign tourists on a day walk in the wilderness area on the banks of the N’waswitshaka River about 15 kilometres from Skukuza on Tuesday morning. “It was a normal walk,” said Gordon shortly after the incident, “I briefed my guests completely and started to walk in a northerly direction when I saw a breeding herd of elephants fairly close to us.” To be on the safe side, Gordon and his back-up guide, Mphandeni re-briefed the tourists on elephant behaviour and requested that they stick close to the guides. The group was then able to view the herd for about five minutes before the herd moved on. “I was busy telling the guests about elephant behaviour when, out of nowhere, an elephant charged us from behind. The group split up and six of the tourists came with me while the rest went with Mphandeni. The elephant came past me and brushed two of the tourists before turning around on one of the tourists,” he explained. “At that moment, I thought I was dead,” said John Anslow from Stafford, United Kingdom. “I was lying on the ground with the elephant virtually on top of me and then I heard the shots and the elephant slumped to the ground on my right.” A bullet from one of the guides’s rifles penetrated the brain, instantly killing the animal before it could kill Anslow. “I owe my life to the quick action of the KNP guides and am relieved that they are so well trained,” concluded Anslow. (Miguel de Sousa)