Because these tourists were idiots an elephant was killed

reply to post by Auricom


Yes, Really
I'm not saying you can't use bear mace, IF you have no choice. But if you are creeping around, trying to get as close to a wild animal as possible, you have to deal with the consequences.
Heck, I just watched a special on grizzly bears the other day. They were interview two people that were attacked. One was a well known photographer and the other was a lady just hiking.

Funny how both say it was their own fault. The lady even told her rescuers, as they were loading her in the helicopter, DO NOT GO AFTER THE BEAR.

Lack of common sense can get you killed. Then yes, it's your fault.


And as for the park rangers in this story, I didn't realize it was such a big park. Too bad they can't weed out people with no common sense before they get in.

chiefsmom
reply to post by Auricom

 

. . . Too bad they can't weed out people with no common sense before they get in.

That would eliminate 99% of the population of Planet Earth.

reply to post by Vasa Croe


GHAAA!!!!

I am SO disgusted by the poaching and killing of these wonderful creatures.....!!!!

I tried to watch a video the other day from, I think, the weather channel? Maybe CNN....about a crew who followed poachers into the jungle...

they found a boat with elephant parts still bleeding....a severed trunk....

I had to turn it off.

You know...it's warped, but: I'm almost numb watching the vid clips of people being slaughtered by other people ---

BUT WHEN I SEE ANIMAL TORTURE AND MUTILATION, I can barely stand to continue....I generally turn it off. It makes me sick; every cell of my being.

Just sayin'.
Gha!!!!

A local radio station had an interview with Ray Thakuli - Acting Head of Communications - SANParks - and he explains why the elephant was shot, which makes a bit of sense, but is still not entirely fair towards the animal(s) IMO.

Link to article and audio interview

...
The elephant was put down because it had shown such aggressive behaviour before and posed a threat to other tourists.

“The elephant had to be put down. Since it was in its musth phase, the elephant had gotten into a fight with another dominant bull before and was very aggressive,” Phaahla said.

During this phase an elephant's elevated testosterone levels cause them to become aggressive, even when unthreatened.

“Musth happens in the breeding season when young bachelor bulls try to enter a breeding herd to mate with a female,” said nature conservationist Bryan Jones, of the Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre.

“They are often driven away by the dominant male of that herd and may divert their frustration onto something else, sometimes humans.”
...

Listen to the audio clip for the Rangers' side of the story.

reply to post by Gemwolf



Id heard that... and I agree that the issue they were having with him was valid, but killing him was overkill. They could have transferred him or etc. IF he wanted to kill the humans .. he COULD HAVE.. he did not. Id have handled it very very differently if I were the park.

There’s just nothing positive to squeeze out of this story. What a cold-blooded, self-serving, arrogant species we are. It’s kinda like you getting the electric chair for firing a warning shot at someone who was stalking you, broke into your home and threatened your life. It just makes absolutely no sense.

It’s crap like this that reinforces my already dim view of Humanity.

This story reminds me of something I saw on TV a few years back. It was a documentary about an exotic wildlife hunting preserve, where the animals roamed freely as open targets for hunters who wanted to bag exotic/endangered trophys. It was sickening. One of the “events” in the video involved a guy packing a high powered rifle, with a couple other guys along to videotape the heroic event. In the distance appears a beautiful white bengal tiger walking along with no awareness of the “Big Game Hunter”, who was carefully, silently getting a bead on him/her. Then POP, and you can see the tiger has been shot, but not killed. It tries to hobble away from the danger, but is obviously hurt badly. Then a second later, another POP, and the tiger goes down. Next you see this psychotic SOB standing with one foot on the dead tiger, holding his rifle proudly for a well deserved photo op. What a man!!

To make a sick, stomach-turning situation even sicker, it turns out the brave hunter was a veterinarian! Go figure!!

IMO this guy is a cold blooded, calculating killer. I would love to hear the news someday that he was later mauled, and ripped to shreds, by a grizzly on one of his “Big Game” expeditions...

This story ties in a bit with the OP and I thought I would post it. I really don't feel sorry for this schlub at all....good for the people putting pressure on him. At least it is only death threats....sound like he is using the same argument about killing the rhino as could be used against him....

A North Texas man who paid $350,000 for the right to hunt an endangered African black rhino said he's had to hire full-time security due to death threats after his name was leaked onto the Internet.

"They're wanting to kill me," he said. "They're wanting to kill my children. They're wanting to skin us alive."

The club says the Namibian rhino in question is older, male and nonbreeding -- and that the animal was likely to be targeted for removal anyway because it was becoming aggressive.

So...they want to kill him and skin him alive. And the club says that the rhino in question is older, male and non-breeding as well as aggressive....seems we could say exactly the same thing about the hunter....should he be put down as well?

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