HEARTBROKEN
Family tells harrowing tale of giraffe-trampling incident
THE grief-stricken family of the baby who was fatally kicked by a giraffe in Hluhluwe last Wednesday has spoken of the traumatic ordeal that has torn their world apart.
Speaking to the ZO, Dylan Panos, a veteran ranger and tour guide and grandfather of baby Kaia Coetzer
(16 months), said life will never be the same again.
On the day of the incident, Dylan’s daughter Nicole Panos (25) and her two children, Kayden Coetzer (3) and Kaia, spent the morning with Dylan and his wife Christa at their home.
The extended family lives on a 40ha property open to a 150ha game farm, and their homes are 200m apart.
“I had to go up to Pongola, so I said goodbye to Christa, Nicole and the kids,” recalled Dylan.
Little did he know how their lives would be forever changed later that day.
“Nicole had returned to her house so the children could have their nap.
“Later in the day, she had to deliver a lecture to our nature training students, and she took the children to our house so Christa could babysit, as she always did.
“The path between Nicole’s house and ours is one we use numerous times a day, always without incident.
“Nicole was carrying Kaia, who was still asleep with her head on her mother’s shoulder, and Kayden was walking alongside them.
“Nicole had seen a male and female giraffe, both adults, eyeing her as all wildlife do, and she carried on walking towards our house."
The seasoned tour guide is well adept at being around wildlife, making this encounter all the more harrowing.
“She heard galloping from behind and when she turned around, the female giraffe was almost on top of her, with its front legs raised, and kicked them.
“The doctor in Hluhluwe who later assessed baby Kaia said she probably took the first blow, to her head, rendering her unconscious immediately.
I cradled her for three hours after she had passed away; I didn’t want to let her go
“Nicole and Kayden were also kicked and knocked down. Christa and my son Kairan came running outside after hearing the commotion.
“Christa found Kayden on the ground screaming, with the female giraffe standing over him.
“Kairan attempted to chase the giraffe away with a broom, to no avail.
“Christa ran to Nicole, who was unconscious on the ground, and then picked up Kaia who was also unconscious.
“Kairan ran inside to grab the gun, and only after he fired seven warning shots into the ground did the giraffe move off.”
Kaia was rushed to the nearest doctor in Hluhluwe, and the farm security community was alerted that urgent help was needed for Nicole and Kayden.
“Alpha Security, among others, arrived within minutes and ambulances were called,” said Dylan.
“Because of Nicole’s spinal injuries, she could not be moved, and the Netcare 911 air ambulance was called.”
Nicole was flown to Netcare uMhlanga Hospital and Kayden was taken by ambulance to Netcare The Bay Hospital. He was later transported by ambulance to uMhlanga where a bed was set up for him in ICU alongside his mother.
By this stage, Dylan had been notified and was on his way home.
“They didn’t tell me what had happened, just that I must go straight to the doctor in Hluhluwe,” said Dylan.
“For the entire drive, I kept hope, but when I arrived at the doctor’s rooms and saw the police van outside, I knew something terrible had happened.
“And when I walked into the doctor’s rooms and saw everyone’s faces, my heart sank.
“I started shouting, ‘Where’s Kaia?’, and I broke down when I saw her little body covered in a white blanket.
“I cradled her for the next three hours. My biggest fear was handing her over to be taken to the mortuary.”
While there was speculation that the two giraffes were a mother and calf, causing the mother to become defensive, Dylan said no one who was there recalls seeing a calf, only the adult male and female.
He said they have no idea what may have sparked the giraffe’s reaction, but it could be insufficient quality food.
“Giraffes are not indigenous to sand forest, so if there are insufficient acacia trees for them to graze, that could be a factor,” said Dylan.
“We don’t want the giraffe to be euthanised, but I have recommended to the manager that they consult an ecologist for advice.”
Trauma
Dylan said, while everyone is devastated, the children’s father, Jason Coetzer, is taking it the hardest.
“He has been working in the USA for the past eight months, to earn decent money so he and Nicole can get married,” said Dylan.
“He missed Kaia’s first birthday, and he arrived home on Monday morning. He's devastated." Having suffered broken vertebrae, a lacerated liver, broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and a badly broken arm, Nicole underwent a six-and-a-half hour operation on Tuesday.
“They decided against fixing her arm this time, focusing on correcting the spine,” said Dylan.
He said there is time before the arm and jaw become urgent, and will probably be done next week.
“The doctors are happy with the procedure. They got the spine straight and put the necessary support in to reset the damaged area.”
The focus now is on infection prevention before doctors can test for reflexes.
Kayden suffered skull fractures, which the doctors are happy will heal without requiring surgery, but he cannot bang his head on anything for the next few months. “Nicole has always said the most important thing she learnt from Kaia’s birth is that you can trust your body to do everything,” said Dylan.
“It has in it all the intelligence that created it and to repair itself. All we need to add is faith and trust.
“This is especially important now that Nicole has to put all her energy into her recovery.”
The Panos family has launched a Go Fund Me page to raise funds for the ongoing medical treatment.
Visit https://bit.ly/3DAfsNw or share the link to help Nicole and
Kayden recover.
Tribute
The loss of Kaia has left a massive void in the hearts of each family member whose lives will never be the same.
“She was my whole world,” said Dylan, who loved spending hours teaching Kaia about Zululand's birds and their calls.
“Nicole and Jason are grateful she did not endure any pain or suffering during the ordeal, and will remember her by the light and love she brought to everyone in our family,” said Christa.
I broke down when I saw her little body under a white blanket