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Tourist remains in critical condition after buffalo attack

 

The condition of the 66-year-old tourist who was critically injured during a near-fatal attack by a wounded buffalo at the Pafuri River Camp on 14 November remains unchanged.

On Wednesday, 26 November, he was still in a critical condition in the Polokwane Provincial Hospital’s intensive care unit.

The attack occurred a mere 50 metres away from the campsite, while he and a fellow tourist were out bird-watching. The wounded buffalo attacked without any provocation or making its presence known beforehand. The man suffered severe abdominal and chest injuries after the buffalo had gored him with its horns.

Following the attack, camp co-owner Mr Vaughan van Niekerk stated that the attack could have been avoided if they had been informed that there was a wounded buffalo in the camp area. He said that they were able to determine that the buffalo was wounded during a botched hunting trip in the Madimbo Corridor some 40 kilometres away from their campsite about three weeks prior to the attack. The buffalo was then, according to Van Niekerk, pursued by officials from the Department of Environmental Affairs in an effort to put it down. The buffalo was chased onto the property of Pafuri River Camp the day before the attack but, said Van Niekerk, neither they nor the surrounding villagers had been alerted to this fact.

The Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET), was asked to comment on Van Niekerk’s claims that environmental affairs officials had chased the wounded buffalo and that the attack could have been avoided if they had been made aware that the buffalo was there.

Mr Burckles Napo, LEDET provincial liaison officer, responded just after our going to press last week. “LEDET is aware of the incident. Our officials were deployed in the area to look for the animal. We responded immediately after we heard about [the] wandering injured animal to prevent further damage,” he stated. It is not clear whether he was referring to the initial chase of the wounded animal after the botched hunt, or to the day of the attack at Pafuri River Camp, with the buffalo eventually being put down. He was again asked to clarify. At the time of our going to press this week, a response was still being awaited.

 

News - Date: 28 November 2014

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Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

Email: [email protected]

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