Herd Of 32 Elephants Could Be Killed After Conservationist Was Trampled

[Satanica]

[....]
South African architect-turned-conservationist, Beyers Coetzee was trampled and killed by a pair of elephant bulls on Mawana Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal province last week.

Image Credit

Coetzee was attempting to escort the elephants back onto the reserve’s property. He fired two shots into the air in an attempt to scare the elephants in the right direction, but instead this provoked the bulls to charge and trample him, his brother-in-law, Johannes van der Walt told News24.

He was in the process of establishing a reserve dedicated to protecting these elephants. Mawana was created as part of Loziba Wilderness Project in northern KwaZulu-Natal. The reserve is a joint venture of private and community-owned land that spans over 40,000 hectares.

As a result of his tragic death, authorities have considered culling the herd of 32 elephants. Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife spokesperson Musa Mntambo said that the circumstances still need to be investigated and only once this is done will a decision of the elephants’ fate be made.

Mntambo told News24:

‘We are in the business of conserving animals and the decision to destroy any animal is taken with a heavy heart, in most cases only to prevent further loss of human life,’

Both the Coetzee and van der Walt families have pleaded for the animals to be spared. Before Beyers Coetzee’s intervention in the reserve, Mawana had been issued a final letter of non-compliance, demanding the fences be fixed as elephants kept wandering into the surrounding communities.

Coetzee was involved in fixing the fences, ensuring full compliance and preventing the elephants from being killed on the grounds of being labelled damage-causing animals.

Speaking to News24, conservationist Dereck Milburn said that Coetzee was besotted with the Loziba Wilderness:

‘He lived for it, it was his pride and joy,’

[....]

Herd Of 32 Elephants Could Be Killed After Conservationist Was Trampled | Focusing on Wildlife

A herd of 32 elephants could potentially be culled after a conservationist was trampled in South Africa.

focusingonwildlife.com

 

[Totemic]

This is BS. They are fucking wild animals, they reacted instinctively to protect the herd.

 

[Brillig]

The man who died would not want them killed. His family does not want them killed. They didn't do anything wrong. Leave the poor elephants alone.

 

[Sharia_Now]

He deserved it.

 

[knockout]

The issue isn’t they killed the guy, issue is the fence and he was the driving force behind fencing them in, so they don’t attack nearby villages or destroy property

 

[Sejanus]

Unfortunate.

 

[Eleven]

Not the elephant's fault. No way would he want the elephants destroyed. "Let's go kill some beautiful endangered animals!" NOT.

 

[Symmachus]

The tragedy here would be compounded if any of these animals were killed in retribution. If one or two are killed in an act of self-defense during a struggle in the moment? Unfortunate, but possibly understandable. But not all 32 animals because of the actions of one or two or so of them (who were not even wrong in the first place, but are simply wild animals preserving themselves).

Killing all 32, I can certainly tell, would make the man's conservation work be in vain.

 

[knockout]

The tragedy here would be compounded if any of these animals were killed in retribution. If one or two are killed in an act of self-defense during a struggle in the moment? Unfortunate, but possibly understandable. But not all 32 animals because of the actions of one or two or so of them (who were not even wrong in the first place, but are simply wild animals preserving themselves).

Killing all 32, I can certainly tell, would make the man's conservation work be in vain.

Has nothing to do with retribution, don’t you people read the articles before posting

 

[roadsidehorror]

Elephants don't like gunfire, obviously. The fence needs to be put up.

 

[Symmachus]

Has nothing to do with retribution, don’t you people read the articles before posting

I most certainly did read the article, and would not comment if I did not read. Upon analyzing your comment, I suppose that "retribution" was likely a wrong vocabulary to use. I guess one thought would be, "if they can do it to him, they can do it to any person". Sure, true. Revenge would not be a motivation in the culling of the 32 elephants. More so wildlife control and maintenance, as well as social stability. But killing all 32 would be, to put it aptly, overkill.

I should disclose that I am not a wildlife expert (but have consistent environmental concerns), and, as an American, have never been to South Africa. Therefore, any comment I may say about this should not be taken as authoritative, and I do not intend it to be as such.

Your time and input is appreciated.

 

[pain4anangel]

This is the most fucked up, asinine, bullshit, entitled, outrageous, cock-snivelling, inhumane, ignorant, ass-reaming, wreckless, bojack horseman, coprophagy loving, obtuse, pachyderm loathing, shit I have read in a long time. And seriously, the guy who died was a conservationist, he would NEVER want something like this to happen. Get some goddamn animal behaviorists to explain to these morons that animals are fucking animals. Elephants are incredibly sentient creatures. More than these bologna heads, that's for sure. This makes me a tad irked.

 

[knockout]

This is the most fucked up, asinine, bullshit, entitled, outrageous, cock-snivelling, inhumane, ignorant, ass-reaming, wreckless, bojack horseman, coprophagy loving, obtuse, pachyderm loathing, shit I have read in a long time. And seriously, the guy who died was a conservationist, he would NEVER want something like this to happen. Get some goddamn animal behaviorists to explain to these morons that animals are fucking animals. Elephants are incredibly sentient creatures. More than these bologna heads, that's for sure. This makes me a tad irked.

Easy to say not living there, I hate people that have no idea of issues of another country telling those people how to live their lives, fucken dumb as hell

 

[Sudonim]

Fuck those wild animals!! Who do they think they are trying to live outside mans precious fence! How dare they walk free like they were meant to! Cant you see we have precious hotels with tourists to protect?!!

Post automatically merged: Mar 17, 2020

I figure I leave this here in case anyone didn't know what Mawana Game Reserve actually is and why I'd make a comment about hotels and tourists. This isnt a national park or a reserve dedicated to the preservation of animals like the article made it out to be. What it actually is..a mass hunting ground that has many hotels and tourists.

12,000 of those 40,000 hectares and the very part that this guy and his business partner owned are actually trophy hunting grounds. One month a year they bring students in so they can run "educational" classes..but the rest of the year its used for hunting. You bet gun fire would trigger a reaction in these animals. There are no lions or rhinos in this park because they aren't allowed to have them.

Every one of the green blips, large and small, you see is a game reserve. Majority of which are privately owned. Majority of which are hunting grounds. If you want to kill large game..this is the area in Africa you go to.

https://www.unine.ch/compcog/home/projets-de-recherche/ivp/field_course_south_africa.html

 

[pain4anangel]

Easy to say not living there, I hate people that have no idea of issues of another country telling those people how to live their lives, fucken dumb as hell

Live their lives? I could see if there were 32 rogue elephants taking over a town, but they aren't. They are on an almost 100,000 acre preserve. Also, if there was an issue with one or two elephants, how does this justify 32? We don't have all the facts, but based on the facts given, it makes no sense. Zero. Usually animals have a very good reason for acting the way they do and we, as entitled human, think it is our duty to kill them rather than find alternate solutions like transporting them elsewhere over time given the resources. I don't care if this happened down the street from me, I'd still be saying the same exact thing. It has nothing to do with another country. If someone jumped out in the dark and scared the shit out of you, and you shot them, should you get death? No. We just choose to react out of fear and ignorance at that which we can not understand or relate to. It happens all the time.

 

[Sudonim]

We don't have all the facts, but based on the facts given, it makes no sense. Zero.

We do have the facts and it does make sense. Yes it sucks that elephants of all creatures would be put down. But this isnt a wild herd we're talking about. This is a herd that is destined for death either way because it belongs to a hunting reserve. You should be more angered by the fact that they have the reserve than the fact that the elephants might have to be put down.

You seen the size of an elephant or the space they need to roam? It's not the same as taking in a few puppies from your local shelters. If the reserve cannot properly keep the animals inside their park then they are risking the communities around them. The only saving grace for a herd this size that's owned by inadequate owners would be another reserve stepping in and taking them, which would be near on impossible for most to do considering they are only allowed to have so many themselves and most already have their own herds. Think of this as more of a shitty roadside zoo being called out on bad practices and the animals having to be destroyed because there's no other option readily available. Put the blame where it belongs. On the people who own these types of reserves.

 

[Blizzard]

What a steaming pile of shit.

 

[pain4anangel]

We do have the facts and it does make sense. Yes it sucks that elephants of all creatures would be put down. But this isnt a wild herd we're talking about. This is a herd that is destined for death either way because it belongs to a hunting reserve. You should be more angered by the fact that they have the reserve than the fact that the elephants might have to be put down.

You seen the size of an elephant or the space they need to roam? It's not the same as taking in a few puppies from your local shelters. If the reserve cannot properly keep the animals inside their park then they are risking the communities around them. The only saving grace for a herd this size that's owned by inadequate owners would be another reserve stepping in and taking them, which would be near on impossible for most to do considering they are only allowed to have so many themselves and most already have their own herds. Think of this as more of a shitty roadside zoo being called out on bad practices and the animals having to be destroyed because there's no other option readily available. Put the blame where it belongs. On the people who own these types of reserves.

I will admit, I did misinterpret where they were located. They mentioned game reserve and then talked about another reserve being established to protect them. The facts issues I mentioned is why 32 instead of just the bulls who flipped out. Are there only 32 on site? So, I am not sure how big this preserve is, but I'm sure they don't have ideal conditions there. I was under the impression they were on the 100k acre preserve. I agree with everything else you mention. I still don't think they should be put down if they weren't directly responsible for the man's death, even if it means their fate later on is just as awful to think of.

 

[knockout]

I will admit, I did misinterpret where they were located. They mentioned game reserve and then talked about another reserve being established to protect them. The facts issues I mentioned is why 32 instead of just the bulls who flipped out. Are there only 32 on site? So, I am not sure how big this preserve is, but I'm sure they don't have ideal conditions there. I was under the impression they were on the 100k acre preserve. I agree with everything else you mention. I still don't think they should be put down if they weren't directly responsible for the man's death, even if it means their fate later on is just as awful to think of.

You still don’t get it do you, they are NOT being put down because they trampled the guy

 

[JackBurton]

This is BS. They are fucking wild animals, they reacted instinctively to protect the herd.

If theyre dangerous and encroaching on human occupied areas, what else are you gonna do?

If the reserve cant build a proper, suitable fence to maintain them, that is kinda their fault. They share culpability in what happens.