Suspected Poacher 'Trampled to Death by Elephants' Splits Netizens

According to South African authorities, an alleged poacher was killed by a group of breeding elephants he met while avoiding park rangers.

Wild Justice

According to South African National Parks authorities, rangers spotted three people attempting to flee the Kruger National Park, one of Africa's biggest game reserves, on Saturday.

Officials said that after one of the suspects was apprehended, he told park rangers that the gang had come across a herd of elephants and that he wasn't sure if his supposed accomplice had managed to flee.

The man was later found "badly trampled" and died from his injury by Rangers.

A Common Occurrence

As related reports emerged similar to the poacher had been trampled to death by an elephant, social media reacted. However, the situation isn't that cut-and-dry.

Poaching wild animals is rampant, with millions of animals from thousands of species hunted or taken from their natural environments around the world. Elephants, rhinos, and other charismatic mammals, and smaller and less well-known species like lizards and monkeys are also under attack from poaching.

Expecting large sums of money, the illicit industry is fraught with risks, including the aforementioned animal-related deaths.

What Happened?

The five men entered South Africa's Kruger National Park unlawfully with one goal in mind: to kill a rhinoceros. Just four people went home after their mission failed. An elephant charged and trampled the first, and a pride of lions devoured his body. Just his skull and broken slacks are discovered.

Not a Black and White Scenario

Though poachers are often attacked or maimed, this case focused attention on poaching and our perception of an increasingly complicated problem.

In an unprecedented move, Kruger National Park (KNP) managing executive Glen Phillips expressed his condolences to the man's relatives, saying, "It's very sad to see the deceased's daughters grieving the loss of their father, and even worse, just being able to recover very little of his remains."

Related Article: Sea Cucumbers Now the Face Of Aquacentric Organized Crimes

Social Media Lashed Out

The aim of such an explicit declaration of condolences was to elicit discussion and raise questions about motives. However, there was no such sympathy on social media.

On the surface, the cynical and often aggressive remarks make sense; the market for ivory, rhino horn, pangolin scales, lion and tiger bones, and other animal parts is triggering the extinction of hundreds of animals. Poaching has also resulted in the extinction of two subspecies of rhinos in the wild: the western black rhino and the northern white rhino.

Many Poachers are forced by Circumstances

The first thing to remember is that poaching cannot be taken at face value.

Individuals such as the man killed in Kruger are not the ones that started the violence. They aren't the smugglers' bosses, whose avarice drives them to commit heinous offenses against animals. They aren't rejoicing in the income produced by East Asian demand. These poachers are typically vulnerable people who live in deplorable conditions and receive little to no compensation from the emerging eco-tourism companies that work near their homes.

Also Read: Despite Low Seizure Amount, Illegal Wildlife Trade May Boom Because of Covid-19

For the most recent updates from the animal kingdom, don't forget to follow Nature World News!