A friend of my sister's was killed by an elephant yesterday.

[Coventina]

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/elephant-tramples-colombian-researcher-death-uganda-2022-04-12/


KAMPALA, April 12 (Reuters) - An elephant trampled to death a Colombian researcher who was studying chimpanzees in Kibali National Park in western Uganda, authorities said.

Sebastian Ramirez Amaya, who was at Arizona State University (ASU) in the United States, was killed on Sunday while conducting research in the forest with his assistant.

"They came across a lone elephant which charged at them, forcing the duo to run in different directions," Uganda Wildlife Authority said in a statement late on Monday.

"The elephant followed Sebastian and trampled on him leading to his death."

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Many wild elephants are suffering from PTSD, due to witnessing their families being murdered by humans. Because this was a lone elephant, I wonder if that was the case.
Knowing the cause doesn't help the current pain of losing him, but it might help in understanding how it happened.

[Tanuki]

1. How terribly sad. 😔

[iemanja]

2. Male elephants are solitary

It's the females that form herds.

I'm sorry for your loss. It's a tragic situation all the way around.

[NickB79]

15. And, males are the ones that go through extreme hormonal cycles

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musth

Cases of rogue elephants randomly attacking native villages or goring and killing rhinoceroses without provocation in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males.

[Johnny2X2X]

3. Elephants are extremely dangerous animals

Very sorry for your loss. In the wild, if an elephant decides it's going to kill you there is no escape, they can out run you, out swim you, and if you climb a tree to get away, they'll tear it down. Lone young bull elephants are known to be unpredictable as they're still figuring out their place in the order and can be aggressive and territorial.

Elephants have been anthropomorphized to an extent, wild elephants aren't friendly by nature and they're not to be trifled with anymore than you'd disturb a mother grizzly with cubs. There's nothing cuddly about an elephant.

I'm sure this group knew what they were doing though having been out studying dangerous animals, just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Very sad as they were out there furthering our understanding of nature so we better protect it.

[Hortensis]

4. That is sad. A researcher, too, so someone who worked to do good.

We know the risks of his work made sense to him and were accepted, Coventina, because he was there.

RIP.

[electric_blue68]

5. Strength to you, your sister, and her friend's family & friends.

[PoliticAverse]

6. The rule for many wild animals that charge you is not to run...

(Humans can't outrun most large animals)

There are many youtube videos showing this specifically with charging elephants.

[Auggie]

7. My rule is to stay away from any wild animal's territory

Should one stumble into my backyard we both acknowledge it as a blunder -- it meanders away and I meander inside.

[PoliticAverse]

12. Sometimes both animal and human are spooked...

[maxsolomon]

8. My rule is don't go to Africa.

Hiking in Grizzly Country is enough danger for me.

[PoliticAverse]

11. Bear spray is your friend (maybe). n/t

[Thtwudbeme]

9. Wish you could have told this man this a week ago

I doubt he knew-

[PoliticAverse]

10. Even if they knew, it is probably difficult to hold your ground...

when a giant animal is running at you.

[IbogaProject]

13. Lots of poaching & encroachment

And can you blame it, if it had ever had hostile relations with any other humans before? So sorry for the loss. A bad group would have been armed.

[live love laugh]

14. So sad 🥲🥲🥲

[niyad]

16. Requiescat in pace, good and brave soul.

[MustLoveBeagles]

17. This is very sad

Sorry for your loss.