A U.S. tourist was tragically killed by an elephant in the Zambian city of Livingstone on Wednesday, marking the second such attack in the country this year, according to local officials.
The officials revealed on Friday that 64-year-old Juliana Gle Tourneau lost her life when an elephant from a herd they were observing attacked their vehicle, throwing Tourneau out and trampling her.
She was a part of a group that had stopped near the Maramba Cultural Bridge due to the traffic caused by the elephant herd in the vicinity, they further explained.
“Juliana Gle Tourneau, 64, from New Mexico, United States of America, passed away on Wednesday around 17.50 after being knocked from a parked vehicle which had stopped due to traffic caused by elephants around the Maramba Cultural Bridge,” stated Southern Province Police Commissioner Auxensio Daka in an interview with the Zambian national broadcaster, ZNBC.
This incident marked the second such attack this year, following the tragic death of another American tourist, an 80-year-old woman, in March during a game drive in a Zambian national park when an elephant charged a truck, causing it to overturn and resulting in the death of the tourist and injuries to five others.
Zambian authorities have issued warnings to tourists to exercise extreme caution when observing wildlife throughout the country.
While many wildlife parks in southern Africa are home to dangerous animals like elephants and lions, incidents like these are rare but can have fatal consequences due to the unpredictable nature of wild animals.
