A guard on the lookout for a pride of 14 lions that were thought to have escaped from the Kruger National Park has been trampled to death by an elephant.
Eric Kgatla, 45, was working at the Foskor phosphate mine in Phalaborwa, just a couple of miles from the famous game reserve, when he is believed to have surprised the elephant.
He had left his hut before dawn, perhaps to answer a call of nature or investigate noises in the bush, causing it to attack.
A fellow guard, also out on patrol, heard the elephant in the darkness and stumbled across the body of his friend at around 4am on Saturday.
It is thought the elephant may have broken down a fence to get out of the Kruger park.
It came a day after the Limpopo provincial government warned the 13,000 residents of Phalaborwa that 14 lions had escaped from the Kruger.
Rangers tracking the pride say they do not believe they were any of the 1,600 lions on the reserve.
“The pride has been moved further along the Selati river to an area away from humans and where there is an abundance of prey,” said manager Marisa Coetzee.
