Elephant kills hunter near Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park

A big game hunter died in Zimbabwe when a member of his hunting group fired their gun at an elephant striking it and causing it to fall on him.

The group had gone for a walk in the afternoon near Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park when three elephants stormed the group, News 24 reported.

A fourth elephant stormed the group from the side and was shot. The animal grabbed 51-year-old Theunis Botha with its trunk, then collapsed and fell on him.

Botha had “unknowingly” approached the elephant herd, a wildlife official told The Associated Press.

Simukai Nyasha, spokesman for the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, said Botha was on a 10-day, licensed hunt.

Botha was a specialist in hunting leopards with hounds. Game Hounds Safaris, Botha’s company, said in a statement that he pioneered the hunts using packs of dogs in southern Africa.

Botha was well known in Zimbabwe and helped recruit Americans for trophy hunting, News 24 added.