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Elephant Kills American Tourist in Zambia

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1/1/2035

An elephant in the wild, symbolizing the growing concerns of safety for tourists in Zambia and neighboring countries.

An elephant in the wild in Zambia

A US tourist from New Mexico was killed by an elephant after it attacked her vehicle during a safari drive in Zambia on Wednesday. The animal pulled Juliana Gle Tourneau, 64, out of the vehicle and trampled her, officials reported.


Ms. Tourneau was part of a group that had stopped near the Maramba Cultural Bridge in Livingstone due to traffic from an elephant herd when one of the animals attacked, according to a police official speaking to the Zambian national broadcaster ZNBC. This incident marks the second fatal elephant attack on a US tourist in Zambia this year.


Earlier in March, Gail Mattson, a 79-year-old woman from Minnesota, was killed during a game drive in Zambia's Kafue National Park. In that incident, an elephant charged a truck, flipped it over, and killed Ms. Mattson while injuring five others. Rona Wells, Ms. Mattson's daughter, shared on Facebook that her mother died in a "tragic accident while on her dream adventure."


A video of the March attack went viral, showing an elephant charging towards a vehicle. Though none of the vehicle's passengers are seen in the video, voices can be heard expressing alarm as the vehicle stops, presumably to stave off the elephant. The animal then hooks its tusk onto the vehicle, causing it to roll several times.


Zambian authorities have urged tourists to exercise extreme caution while observing wildlife. Neighboring countries Zimbabwe and Botswana have also raised concerns about increasing elephant populations and have recorded deadly elephant attacks in recent years.

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