New Zealand tourist killed by charging elephant in Zambia

A British pensioner and another woman from New Zealand have been killed by a charging elephant while on safari in Zambia.

Easton Janet Taylor, 68, and Alison Jean Taylor, 67, died when they were attacked by a female elephant who had been nursing a young calf.

Easton Janet Taylor was said to be from the UK, but further details were unavailable.

The incident occurred at 6.20am on Thursday (local time) near Big Lagoon Camp in South Luangwa National Park in eastern Zambia.

The tourists were in the company of an armed wildlife police officer and two other people when they were attacked, according to Robertson Mweemba, the Eastern Province police commissioner.

The officer fired shots at the animal in an attempt to stop it, Mweemba added. The elephant was hit and wounded, but still attacked the two women, who died at the scene, 595km from the capital of Lusaka.

The national park is known for its walking safaris, in which tourists are taken by experienced guides through the wilderness on foot. Each group is usually accompanied by an armed ranger or scout.

Females can be aggressive when with young

Female elephants, which can weigh up to 3600kg, can become extremely aggressive if they are with their young or feel threatened.

“The two female tourists, while taking a safari walk to a crossing point at Luangwa river, spotted an elephant with a calf at a distance and diverted for about 50 metres away, but within a few minutes after diverting, [the armed officer] who is usually behind, saw the elephant charging at them,” Mweemba told the Zambia Daily Mail.

“He shouted, ‘Elephant.’ As they turned to see, they saw it charging at a high speed and due to the fact that Alison Jean Taylor had a leg problem, she was caught first and while the wildlife police officer fired warning shots, Easton Janet Taylor was caught as well.”

The pair, who had been travelling together, had been moving between two camps when the incident occurred.

Last year, two American tourists were killed in separate incidents in different parts of Zambia when elephants charged at their safari vehicles.

Gail Mattson, 79, from Minnesota, was on a game drive in Kafue National Park when a bull elephant charged, flipping over the vehicle and killing her in March.

In June, Juliana Gle Tourneau, 64, from New Mexico, was killed near the city of Livingstone when an elephant threw her out of a car and trampled her.

Such fatal charging attacks by elephants are still rare. Zambian authorities at the time called on tourists to exercise extreme caution while observing wildlife around the country.