Elephant used for tourist rides kills handler at resort

AN ELEPHANT trained to give rides at Zimbabwe’s main tourist resort has charged and killed one of its handlers.

Enock Kufandada, 50, a guide at Victoria Falls, was preparing to put the elephant, called Mbanje, into a paddock when it turned on him.

Mbanje, a bull jumbo aged about 30, had been giving tourists rides earlier in the day. Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority rangers shot and killed the elephant.

Police said Mr Kufandada had worked at the Victoria Falls tourist company, Adventure Zone, for more than 10 years. His son, Shepherd, said his father’s death was a “great shock”.

Brent Williamson, who owns and runs Adventure Zone, said the company had been providing elephant rides for several years. He said he spoke with “deep regret… that our domesticated elephant bull, Mbanje, charged at one of our staff which resulted in one of our guides losing his life”.

Glynnis Vaughan, of a Zimbabwean animal charity, said that African elephants could never be domesticated. “It is vicious,” she said. “It’s cruel.”