A hunter who went hunting on a grand scale and did it as his profession for over three decades died these days during such an outing. He was crushed by an elephant shot by one of his hunting colleagues from the group.
Theunis Botha started hunting in 1989 and earned money by organizing hunting trips. And he invested that money to further his education in hunting.
When he graduated from university, he started a hunting farm with his wife and in time he was able to own hunting grounds in Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa.
TB Big Game Hounds
Theunis was also leading a hunting party near Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe when they passed a group of grazing elephants.
Three of the elephants chased the men and one of them grabbed Theunis with its trunk before the animal was shot by one of the hunters.
The elephant then collapsed and fell on top of Theunis. Under the weight of the pachyderm, the hunter, who was also the father of five children, was crushed.
According to BBC News Online, the eldest daughter confirmed the incident and the death of her father.
TB Big Game Hounds
When the name Theunis appeared in public, it was reported that the hunter also organized so-called “Monteria hunt”. This involves flushing out herds of deer and wild boar and allowing the hunters to shoot and kill their too-slow offspring.
Theunis’ website says he started running safaris in 1989, previously serving as a sergeant in the South African infantry.
One of his friends, Steve Scott, confirmed Theunis’ death on Twitter, and in a Facebook post, Kuronda Safaris, a company based in Zimbabwe, paid tribute to him, saying Theunis had been “a great man with a fantastic sense of humor.”
As sad as this death is for his family and friends, we don’t see that there has to be room in this world for the senseless hunting of animals.