29-year-old game ranger killed by buffalo
JANSENVILLE — Tragedy struck at the ibamba Private Game Reserve near Jansenville last Saturday when 29-year-old André de Villiers, an employee of the Reserve, was killed by a buffalo.
The reserve has an established breeding herd of eight Cape buffalo and had recently acquired a new animal.
De Villiers, a game ranger and professional hunter, was very excited about the new buffalo, went in search of it on Saturday morning, eager to see how it was settling in. Nobody knows exactly what happened, but it appears that he got out of his vehicle, and walked down an embankment to the riverbed, looking for the buffalo.
His parents, Jeanne and Koekie, were at their farm which is close to the Reserve, waiting for André and his wife Malindi to arrive - the couples were due to visit family friends for a birthday celebration.
When they phoned Malindi, she told them that he was not yet back from the Reserve. Nobody was unduly concerned, as André was known to take his work very seriously, and would often work longer hours than was expected.
However, as time marched on, the family began to worry. André was a diabetic, and there were concerns that his blood sugar levels might have dropped too low. They went to the Reserve to look for him and found his empty bakkie.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Juan du Preez stated that at 16:00, the Jansenville police received a call about the missing man, and they set off immediately for the Reserve.
On arrival, they were told that in the meantime, Jeanne had found his son’s body, in the veld. He had severe injuries to his upper body, and it is thought that he had been trampled and possibly gored by a buffalo. A post-mortem examination was held in Graaff-reinet on Wednesday morning, but the results were not yet available at the time of going to press.
His parents and wife, to whom he had been married for just two years, are understandably devastated. A distraught Malindi said that he was her whole life and her best friend. They have been sustained by the hundreds of messages of sympathy that have flooded in from around the world. A gofundme fundraiser has been started by a family friend in USA in memory of André, to pay for funeral expenses and “to try to replace the strong support that André added to the family farm”, where he and Malindi lived. In just one day, the fund has raised almost $1 500.
Social media has also been filled with messages of condolences to the family. A long-time friend of André, Johan Vermeulen, posted a moving video on Facebook of a compilation of photos, saying that he was a man of integrity, a boy full of love, and a friend to many. He thanked André for teaching his friends to appreciate the little things in life. Another friend, Ryno Ferreira, remembered André as “The ever gentleman, always smiling from ear to ear. Malindi’s pillar of strength, the pride of your parents”.
André’s passion for nature and wildlife was mentioned by many. After school, he started studying towards a B Com degree but gave this up to follow a career in wildlife. He was an accomplished sportsman, playing rugby for the Shimlas, and at the age of just 12-years-old, he received senior Protea colours for Equestrianism.
It is not known whether it was, in fact, the new buffalo that attacked André, and once the animal has been located, tests will be carried out to try to determine this. His family do not blame the Game Reserve, nor the buffalo, which they say was only acting on its instincts.
They would not like to see the animal responsible put down, as they feel that André would not have wanted an animal destroyed for following its nature.
Buffalos are extremely dangerous animals and kill about 200 people every year. They are said to have killed more big game hunters than any other animal, according to the travel guide website tripsavvy.com.
A service in celebration of André’s life will be held at the Somerset East Dutch Reformed Church on Saturday, December 16 at 11:00. He leaves his wife Malindi, parents Jeanne and Koekie, and half-sisters Ferne Murabito and Nicole Ferreira.