JOHANNESBURG, South Africa | An elephant trampled to death a suspected poacher in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, a spokesperson for the famous park (northeast) said on Friday.
The crushed body was discovered Thursday during an operation to prevent poaching in the park, spokesman Isaac Phaahla told AFP.
The poacher did not have time to injure the elephants in the park: one of them stepped on him while the other poachers who accompanied him were able to flee. “According to the first elements of the investigation, the deceased was killed by an elephant and abandoned by his accomplices,” he explained.
The elephant surprisingly spared the man’s cell phone, allowing the guards to turn it over to the police to help track the other poachers.
Lions also attacked a poacher in Kruger last year. The victim’s accomplices had called an emergency number to report his disappearance. The lions had left only the poacher’s head, found three days later.
The Kruger Park is the prey of poaching, in particular concerning the rhinos. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) recently expressed alarm at the “nearly 70%” decrease in the rhino population in this park over the past decade, with 4,000 rhinos.
But thanks to new technology and an increase in the number of patrols to apprehend suspects before they act, the park has managed to bring down the number of animals killed in the past two years.
Travel restrictions due to COVID-19 have also given the park a boost in its fight against poaching.
The number of poached animals has dropped by 37% compared to last year, according to the park.