The New Mexico woman’s death marks the second U.S. tourist to be killed by an elephant in Zambia this year
A tourist from the United States was killed by an elephant in Zambia this week — in what now marks the second fatal elephant attack on an American visitor in the country this year.
Juliana Gle Tourneau, 64, was pulled from her car by an elephant in the Zambian city of Livingstone on Wednesday, June 19, the Associated Press, the BBC and Forbes reported, citing local officials and Zambia’s ZNBC.
The New Mexico woman, who was spending time with a group near the city’s Maramba Cultural Bridge, was “knocked from a parked vehicle which had stopped due to traffic caused by elephants around the Maramba Cultural Bridge,” the Southern Province Police Commissioner Auxensio Daka reportedly told ZNBC.
Tourneau was then trampled by one of the elephants in the herd that the group was watching, per the AP. She died at 5:50 p.m. local time.
The tourist’s death comes just two months after another elephant in the country’s Kafue National Park attacked a safari group — leading to the death of an 80-year-old American woman.
As confirmed by hospitality and conservation company Wilderness, the elderly woman and five others had their vehicle charged at by an “aggressive” bull elephant around 9:30 a.m. local time on March 30. The group was on a photography tour at the time, per The Telegraph, and they had been staying at the Lufupa Tented Camp.
Footage of the attack showed the elephant running behind the vehicle and then charging once it stopped. The animal then flipped the vehicle and one person could be heard yelling.
“This is a devastating incident for everyone involved and we are doing our best to support the family and all affected and to respect their wishes for privacy,” a spokesperson previously told PEOPLE.
Wilderness’ chief executive officer Keith Vincent shared in a statement at the time that the attack was a “tragic event” that occurred as the vehicle’s route was “blocked” due to vegetation. The five other guests were injured.
