Elephant Tramples Poacher in Animal Reserve in Zimbabwe
An elephant is thought to have trampled and killed a would-be poacher after the remains of Solomon Manjoro were found by park rangers. The poaching trip went awry in the Charara safari area in Zimbabwe.
29-year-old Noluck Tafuruka, who is thought to be an accomplice, was later arrested by local police inside the Charara reserve, which lies near Zimbabwe's Lake Kariba in the north west of the country. He was charged with illegal possession of a firearm, according to reports.
"The poacher was recently trampled to death by an elephant after he failed to gun down the jumbo during a hunting expedition," Zimbabwe's Sunday Mail reported.
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It is believed Manjoro and Tafuruka encountered the elephant after entering the game reserve in April. Police believe the pair, who were allegedly carrying unlicensed weapons, were not able to bring the elephant down; the nimal then charged and trampled Manjoro.
A third man, Godfrey Shonge, 52, from capital city Harare, was also arrested in connection with the incident.
Incidents of elephant poaching have been on the rise in recent years driven by increased demand for ivory and has decimated the elephant population throughout the continent. Conservation experts belive that whole species of elephants could become extinct within a a generation if protection that is in place specifically for elephants is not enforced.
Ivory, the valuable substance that is sought by poachers, is sold on the black market and often smuggled to Asian countries including China, where it is used for ornaments and jewelry.
