A prominent South African big-game hunter is dead after an elephant that had lifted him in the air landed on him when it was shot by another hunter.
The accident happened at the Good Luck Farm preserve near Gwai, in Zimbabwe. Theunis Botha, 51, was leading a group on a hunt when they stumbled into a group of breeding elephants that tried to protect themselves from the hunters.
Botha fired on three cows that charged the hunters, but a fourth elephant charged them from the side and lifted Botha in the air, South Africa's News24 reports. A hunter fatally shot the elephant but the animal fell in such a way that Botha was crushed.
The professional hunter was a father of five. He is survived by wife Carike Botha as well.
Botha recruited American and European hunters to take part in trophy hunting expeditions. He specialized in hunting leopards and lions with a roster of hound dogs, according to The Telegraph.
Botha had his own company, Game Hounds Safaris. The site calls his company “a family operation born out of a mutual love for Africa and its natural beauty.”
About the Author
