Current:Home > ContactAmerican woman killed by elephant in Zambia, the second such attack this year -TrueNorth Capital Hub
American woman killed by elephant in Zambia, the second such attack this year
View
Date:2025-04-17 10:48:33
A New Mexico woman visiting Zambia was trampled and killed by an elephant on Wednesday, local officials said. It marked the second such attack in the country this year.
Officials said Friday that 64-year-old Juliana Gle Tourneau was killed when an elephant that was part of a herd the tourists were watching attacked their vehicle in the Zambian city of Livingstone. Tourneau was thrown from the vehicle and trampled by the elephant.
Tourneau was part of a group that had stopped near the Maramba Cultural Bridge due to the traffic caused by the elephant herd near the bridge, officials added.
"Juliana Gle Tourneau, 64, of New Mexico, United States of America, died 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," Southern Province Police Commissioner Auxensio Daka told the Zambian national broadcaster, ZNBC.
It is the second such attack this year after another American tourist was killed in March this year during a game drive in Zambia's Kafue National Park. In that incident, an elephant charged a truck, flipped it over, killed the tourist, and injured five others.
Family members confirmed that Gail Mattson, a 79-year-old Minnesotan, was killed in the attack. In a post on Facebook, Rona Wells said her mother died in a "tragic accident while on her dream adventure."
The attack was captured in a harrowing cellphone video. The clip, shot by tourists, begins inside an open safari vehicle during the game drive.
In the distance, a large bull elephant can be seen coming toward the vehicle. The vehicle's occupants cannot be seen in the video clip, but someone is heard, saying "Oh my goodness," before a man says, "It's coming fast."
The vehicle stops and then another voice, presumably the game ranger, tries to ward off the elephant verbally as the large pachyderm hooks its tusks onto the vehicle and rolls it several times.
Zambian authorities have called on tourists to exercise extreme caution while observing wildlife around the country.
- In:
- New Mexico
- Elephant
- Zambia
veryGood! (99)
Related
- Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
- Horoscopes Today, May 18, 2024
- As PGA Championship nears enthralling finish, low scores are running rampant at Valhalla
- D. Wayne Lukas isn't going anywhere. At 88, trainer just won his 15th Triple Crown race.
- Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
- Seize the Grey crosses finish line first at Preakness Stakes, ending Mystik Dan's run for Triple Crown
- Max Verstappen holds off Lando Norris to win Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and extend F1 lead
- 11 hurt after late-night gunfire breaks out in Savannah, Georgia
- 2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
- Edmonton Oilers force Game 7 with rout of Vancouver Canucks
Ranking
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- Mega Millions winning numbers for May 17 drawing: Jackpot rises to $421 million
- Sportswear manufacturer Fanatics sues Cardinals rookie WR Marvin Harrison Jr., per report
- Sean Diddy Combs Breaks Silence About Video Appearing to Show Him Assault Cassie
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs apologizes for assaulting Cassie Ventura in 2016 video: 'I'm disgusted'
- Schauffele wins first major at PGA Championship in a thriller at Valhalla
- Oleksandr Usyk beats Tyson Fury by split decision to become the undisputed heavyweight champion
Recommendation
Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
Whoopi Goldberg reflects on family, career in new memoir Bits and Pieces
In Oregon’s Democratic primaries, progressive and establishment wings battle for US House seats
NBA Teammate of the Year Mike Conley explains what it means to be a good teammate
Average rate on 30
3 killed in western New York after vehicle hit by Amtrak train
Stock market today: Asian stocks advance after Wall Street closes out another winning week
Taylor Swift performs 'Max Martin Medley' in Sweden on final night of Stockholm Eras Tour: Watch