A hunter in his late fifties was killed in Gabon when he was ambushed by an elephant and trampled to death.
The drama unfolded last week in Roungassa village, in the province of Ogooue Lolo, Gabon Media Time reported.
The website reported that the victim was a resident of the village and was "known to all."
The remains of the man, whose identity has not been revealed, were found lying in the forest by members of the Central Brigade of the capital of Ogooué Lolo, residents told the website.
This kind of hunting accident has been occurring more frequently in Gabon in recent months. More and more animals, especially elephants, are staying closer to the villages because of deforestation, which destroys the habitat and the trees whose fruits the animals feed on, the website reported.
Similar tragedies have been recorded in the provinces of Ngounié and Woleu-Ntem in recent months, according to the news website.
Gabon is home to a large colony of forest elephants, which can be dangerous when close to humans.
A similar incident took place in Northern Namibia on March 13, when a farmer was killed after being trampled on by an African savanna elephant. Abner Petrus, 46, lost his life after one of the animals attacked him from behind in Okatha-Kiikombo, a village in the Omusati region.
African forest elephants, which are smaller than the African savanna elephants, occupy most of the tropical forests in West and Central Africa, with the largest populations found in Gabon and the Republic of Congo.
Increased threats of poaching and loss of habitat have made Africa's elephant more endangered, according to a report released in March by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Both the African forest elephant and the African savanna elephant are considered endangered.
The number of African forest elephants has fallen by more than 86 percent over a 31-year period, the report said, while the population of savanna elephants dropped by more than 60 percent over a 50-year period. The International Union for Conservation of Nature rates the global extinction risks to the world's animals.
Africa currently has 415,000 elephants, counting the forest and savanna elephants together, according to the agency.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has predicted that the African elephant could be extinct by 2040, with poaching and human-wildlife conflict as a result of habitat loss and fragmentation the main threats to the survival of the species.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jack Dutton is a Newsweek Reporter based in Cape Town, South Africa. His focus is reporting on global politics and ... Read more
