British tourist killed by elephant in Zambia

British media are all reporting about a tragic incident in which Easton Janet Taylor, 68, and Alison Jean Taylor, 67, both lost their lives when they were attacked by an elephant on an on-foot safari in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia.

The safari guide shot and wounded the charging elephant cow, but couldn't stop the attack and prevent the loss of life.

Accidental deaths are always tragic, and I am sure that both victims were kind and nature-loving people. May they rest in peace - my deepest condolences go out to their families.

What I struggle to understand is the extreme media bias evident in the extensive coverage of this incident.

An example:

Sky NEWS reports "Elephant kills British woman and New Zealander on walking safari in Zambia.
The incident follows two other fatal elephant attacks on women doing safaris in Zambia last year."

In reality, the incident follows THOUSANDS of fatal wildlife attacks on people in Africa and India over the last decade. Yet these particular incidents are interesting to the press, solely because the victims are Western tourists... people who took a calculated risk by approaching the dangerous animals in the company of an armed guide.

The local people living in these areas are not approaching the animals; they do not have an armed guide at their side, and they certainly do not pay for the experience of being face-to-face with large wildlife. They are simply forced into the situation they are in, and when they are attacked and killed in their fields, they are just anonymous brown victims of human wildlife conflict, unworthy of being mentioned in the Western press.

It's wrong

Jens Ulrik Høgh
Hunter's Voice