Cape Town - A tragic incident at Inverdoorn Private Game Reserve in Ceres on Monday left elephant handler Kabelo Botha Mashao – a staff member who had dedicated his life to the gentle handling of elephants – trampled to death and allegedly impaled by the animal’s tusks.
The male elephant was introduced to Inverdoorn approximately 15 years ago and according to preliminary information shared by the police, Mashao was patrolling with a colleague when the elephant was seen pushing open a gate.
Police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie said: “Upon noticing, the deceased disembarked from the vehicle and tried to lure the elephant back into the camp when the elephant suddenly turned on him, trampled him and allegedly impaled him with its tusks.”
Pojie said the man was declared dead on the scene by paramedics. Ceres police opened an inquest docket for further investigation following the death of the handler at the tusks of the elephant bull.
Late on Monday night, the game reserve, which forms part of the Aquila Collection, announced Mashao’s death and extended its deepest sympathies and condolences to the Mashao family, his friends and co-workers “during this difficult time”.
On Facebook, Mashao’s wife noted the death of her husband and shared a collection of pictures from their life together with the short caption, “RIP my lovely husband”.
Before working at Inverdoorn, Mashao was an elephant handler at Adventures With Elephants (AWE) in the town of Bela-Bela, Limpopo, and was the head elephant handler at Zemvelo Adventures in the small town of Magaliesburg in Gauteng.
AWE managing director Sean Hensman, devastated at the news, said: “We are very sorry to hear of Botha’s passing, despite his short time with us; he was a good man as well as a compassionate and gentle elephant carer.”
Hensman said Mashao was recently taken in at Inverdoorn and would have been in the process of getting to know his new family there.
The Aquila Collection said it was providing the necessary support to the staff and all those affected.
“The safety and well-being of our staff, guests and wildlife is of the utmost importance to us. We ask that the privacy of the family and staff be respected during this difficult time.”
The company said it would not provide any further comments until the investigation was complete.
When approached for more information regarding the incident and what would happen to the elephant, Aquila Collection marketing manager Johan van Schalkwyk said that fortunately no one else had been injured and that this was a rare occurrence as there had been no prior injuries or incidents of this nature at Inverdoorn.
Stellenbosch University elephant expert Katharina von Dürckheim said: “Incidents of handlers being killed by elephants are a terrible tragedy and my heart goes out to the handler’s family.
“These incidents are generally unusual but elephants can be dangerous if they are hurt or injured, if they are under threat, caught by surprise, if they are protecting their offspring, or if male elephants are in musth when they have high testosterone levels.”
She reiterated that the onus was on reserve managers and owners to educate staff and tourists alike on elephant behaviour.
“There is not enough detailed information of every incident where handlers are injured to find out if there is a common denominator – such as if there is an invisible injury, the structure of the herd, social stressors, the capture background of the elephant, if they are being hormonally treated and if they are captive or allowed some free ranging activities,” Von Dürckheim said.