The North West Parks and Tourism Board, is urging tourists and visitors at its parks, to always adhere to safety measures and protocols.
This after a 43-year-old Spanish tourist was on Sunday trampled to death by an elephant at the Pilanesberg National Park, after he disembarked his vehicle to try to take pictures with a herd of elephants.
The victim was on a self-drive at the park with family members and friends when the incident happened.
Authorities said after entering the reserve through the Bakgatla Gate, the tourists spotted a herd of breeding elephants near the road.
“The tourist then decided to disembark from the vehicle and approached the herd of elephants to take pictures.
There were two other vehicles nearby, the eyewitness report thus says the occupants of the vehicle warned the tourist not to approach the elephants.
A female elephant then charged at the man, and when he tried to run back to the car it was already late as the elephant had charged at him,” said the Board’s Chief Marketing Officer, Sebaka Mooketsi, who was speaking on YouFM News Hour programme.
Mooketsi highlighted that after the incident, the elephants went back to the bushes, and the victim’s companions were unharmed.
According to Mooketsi, the tourist disregarded the park rules, which are displayed upon entering or when making reservations with different languages.
“There are rules, procedures and safety protocols that needs to be adhered to that are clearly displayed at all the entrances of the park, as well as the entering invoice permits that tourist receive. The most important rule and regulation or the number one rule, is that it is an offence to alight from a motor vehicle in the park, unless at a designated spot, which is mostly the visiting camp or the picnic spot at the park,” explained Mooketsi.
She said most tourists want to take pictures to create memorable experiences, but the difficulty is dealing with animals in their natural habitat, which is unpredictable.
Mooketsi stressed that this also applies to tourists who opt for a self-drive.
“We do have park management, game rangers, and honorary guides, which are around the park during operating hours all the time to ensure the tourist safety. Unfortunately, with a self-drive undertaken, you’re driving around in your own vehicle. We’re dealing with the animals in their natural environment, it’s not a group type of setup. We advise people to opt for a bigger type of vehicle like 4×4, that can handle the off-road terrain we have at most of the parks,” explained Mooketsi.
