Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/10/05
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Tina, my daughter just returned from 2 months in Kenya and Uganda. While in Kenya she signed up for a short wildlife safari. One day the Safari camped at a watering place together with a few other safari outfits. In the morning, a tourist, against the instructions of the safari leader,"went for a walk". When he did not return a search was begun which discovered him 200 feet from the tent trampled to death by an elephant. It appeared he had encountered the elephant, started to take photos, and then ran from the charge. You can't run away from an angry african elephant. The tourist was a British Army officer on vacation with his family. The incident ocurred in daylight in a regular campground with concrete tent pads, tables, many people around, etc. Local experts said a man taking photos appears to the elephant to be a challenging and agressive person. The elephant not only trampled him into the ground, but, ripped up small trees and stabbed the corpse with branches. African elephants are not safe like Indian elephants. Another incident she reported happened in the coastal town of Lamu near Mombassa. An american yachtsman offered to assist local villagers with an electric wiring problem. He was working on the wires when the power suddenly came on. It was fatal. It can be argued that both these men were careless. However, the point is that they weren't in Kansas anymore... I know you are an experienced globetrotter, not a naive tourist. If it was me in Africa I would pay very close attention to warnings given by locals and have my common sense turned up to full power. She was never robbed or threatened, but, stayed out of known danger zones in Nairobi and Kampala. In Uganda there appears to be little law enforcement outside the cities and local people will apply swift vigilante justice to criminals. She worked with HIV/AIDS infected orphans in Uganda. The disease is pandemic in Africa. Be sure to bring your own syringe and needle kit in case you need a shot. What a great opportunity you have! Bon Voyage, Bill Lawlor