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Saw this article in the Hunting Report;

PH Killed By Elephant

(Editor Note: Hunting Report President/Publisher Don Causey filed the following update on new developments in Africa.)

This report has been excerpted from a larger article. If you would like to see the entire article from which this excerpt was taken, contact us and ask for item #1483.

Another Professional Hunter has been killed by dangerous game. The PH is Zimbabwean Carl Bradfield, who was gored and trampled by an elephant March 30 while hunting in Sengwe 2 Hunting Area near Gona-Re-Zhou National Park. We’ll let a friend of Bradfield’s, Barry Styles of Buffalo Range Safaris, tell the sad story:

“Rumors and speculation are rife amongst the Lowveld community on what transpired with the death of Carl Bradfield as a result of an elephant hunt that went terribly wrong on Wednesday, March 30, 2005 in the Sengwe 2 hunting area. The purpose of this e-mail is to put this incident into its proper perspective, and we ask that anything contrary to this brief be put straight.

“Carl Bradfield was conducting an elephant hunt with an American client and was ‘spooring’ two elephant when they came across one of the elephants in thick scrub. The distance between the hunting party and the elephant was approximately 20 meters.

“Whilst Bradfield was ‘glassing’ the elephant to assess its suitability as a trophy, the wind changed direction, the elephant caught their scent and immediately started to charge the hunting party, upon which Carl Bradfield instructed his party to run. No shots were fired, nor were any shouts heard from Carl Bradfield by any member of the party.

“Upon regrouping, the hunting party started searching the area for Bradfield, as he was not responding to their calls. They finally located him and established that the elephant had caught and killed him, and had then left the area. Bradfield had been ‘tusked’ once from the groin through to the chest cavity and stomped on.

“This incident occurred at 7:30 am. The next day, on Thursday March 31, 2005, at approximately mid-day, the National Parks Game Scout that had accompanied the hunting party, along with the National Parks Warden from Mabala- huta (according to National Parks Staff at Mabalahuta Headquarters), managed to track down the elephant responsible and destroyed it.

“Speculation is rife as to what actually went wrong. No one knows, and no one ever will. Your respect for elephant is certainly warranted when you read reports like this….”

Here at The Hunting Report, we contacted Bradfield’s wife last month who sent us the following note: “Thank you for your condolences. We are still in complete shock. Being a hunter’s wife, you always have this fear in the back of your mind but never expect it to happen. Carl was a very careful and experienced hunter. Being a white woman in Africa is not easy, and I still have a family to support. I will with heartfelt thanks accept support from some of Carl’s clients who have expressed their wish to do so. I would also like it be known that Mr. James Brown, who was more than a client as he was greatly respected and loved by Carl, did everything he could to make Carl’s last journey home as trouble-free and dignified as possible. I thank god it was him on safari at the time, and I am forever grateful to him.

“To all Carl’s clients, I didn’t know he was so respected. I thank you for all your e-mails, messages and calls. I was always in the background doing what I could to make things easier for Carl and did get the chance to meet many of you. I appreciate that as it adds to the memories. It was Carl’s wish that if anything happened to him we should try and keep the safaris going, which I am going to do. I was never directly involved, but now my daughter Candice and I will do the best we can to honor what obligations Carl had. Kind regards, Ann, Candice and Stacy Bradfield.”

Still in Zimbabwe, there was a short-lived flurry of e-mails last month about a plan by PH Barry van Heerden to let international hunting clients shoot animals set aside for ration purposes by National Parks and Wildlife. Unfortunately, the plan was represented as approved in some of the e-mails, when, in fact, the idea never got the ok. If you, or anyone you know, have bought a so-called “ration hunt” in Zimbabwe, be advised no such hunts will be permitted. A word to the wise should be sufficient here…

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