via Hunter trampled to death by elephant – NewZimbabwe 16 April 2015
A ZIMBABWEAN professional hunter was killed by a bull elephant in the north of the country, his company said on Thursday.
Ian Gibson was killed on Wednesday by the elephant he was tracking with a client in the lower Zambezi Valley, Chifuti Safaris said in a statement posted to the africahunting.com website.
The bull charged Gibson from a distance of less than 100m, the statement said.
“Feeling he was quite close to the elephant, Ian and his tracker Robert continued to follow the tracks in the hopes of getting a look at the ivory,” Chifuti Safaris said.
“They eventually caught up to the bull, spotting him at about 50m-100m. The bull instantly turned and began a full charge.
“Ian and Robert began shouting in order to stop the charge. At very close range, Ian was able to get off one shot before the bull killed him,” the statement said.
The elephant was understood to be in musth, which means the bull had a surge of testerone and would have been particularly dangerous.
Fellow hunters posted condolence messages on hunting community websites.
Wrote Steve: “Good guy; the best, actually. Godspeed, my friend. Godspeed.”
Safaris said: “Ian Gibson was a fine man and one of the most experienced professional hunters on the African continent. He will be deeply missed by all.”
The company also reportedly lost a professional hunter in 2012, when Owain Lewis was killed by a buffalo.
COMMENTS
GOOD RESULT !!! JUMBO 1 – “HUNTER” 0. The only bad part to this is that the elephant is probably wounded and will have to be destroyed.
Just remember Jumbo’s also squash stupid bunny huggers
Sick and depraved!
RIP Gibbo one of the BEST there was we will meet sometime in the valley doing what we do best , you will now be with your wife , the kid are in good hands
When one thinks about it – is there any difference between the hunters shooting elephant or Mugabe selling them as infants to China? This is a missed opportunity – Mugabe should really have been at the front of this elephant’s rage. The elephant would have been my hero.
MikeH – What a stupid comment!