The victims were attacked by a female elephant that was with a calf on Thursday, while on a safari walking tour in Zambia – and both died at the scene, police said
An elderly British tourist and her pal from New Zealand were killed by an elephant while on a walking safari in Zambia today, police said.
Eastern Province Police Commissioner Robertson Mweemba said the victims were attacked by a female elephant that was with a calf at South Luangwa National Park. Safari guides who were with the group fired shots at the elephant in a desperate attempt to stop it from charging at the women. The elephant was hit and wounded by the gunshots, but the guides were unable to prevent the attack and both women died at the scene, police said.
The South Luangwa National Park is located in eastern Zambia, around 600 kilometers (370 miles) from the capital, Lusaka.
Female elephants are known to very protective of their calves and can respond aggressively to what they perceive as threats. Last year, two American tourists were killed in separate encounters with elephants in different parts of Zambia. In both cases, the tourists were also elderly women and were on a safari vehicle when they were attacked.
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