Suspected poacher trampled to death by elephants in South African national park

• A suspected rhino poacher was killed by a herd of breeding elephants at South Africa's Kruger National Park.
• The man was accompanied by three other poachers.
• Officials say one suspect was arrested while another was wounded but escaped officials.

A suspected rhino poacher was trampled to death by a herd of elephants, and several other poaching suspects armed with hunting rifles were arrested by authorities at South Africa's Kruger National Park last weekend.

A statement released by South African National Parks said that the three suspected poachers were attempting to flee park rangers when they ran into the herd of elephants. The park rangers called for support from the South African Police Service Air Wing and one suspect was arrested.

"The Rangers discovered his accomplice badly trampled and unfortunately succumbed to his injuries," the statement read. "The third suspect is said to have been injured in the eye but continued to flee. A rifle was recovered and the case was referred to police, who together with the pathology team attended to the scene."

In a separate investigation held the next day, three more suspected poachers who were found to be in possession of a high caliber hunting rifle, poaching equipment, and ammunition were arrested at Kruger National Park.

"We hope the arrests send a strong message to poachers that we are determined to stop them in their tracks within the Park," Gareth Coleman, managing executive of the Kruger National Park said.

Kruger National Park, which is one of Africa's largest wildlife preserves, is said to be home to an estimated 4,000 rhinos who are often targeted by poachers for their horns, which are in high demand for the production of traditional medicines mainly in East Asian countries such as China and Vietnam.

This isn't the first time poachers have been wounded or killed by Elephants at Kruger National Park. In 2019, a suspected rhino poacher was killed by an elephant and officials said his remains were "devoured" by a pride of lions. A search for the man's remains uncovered only a human skull and a pair of pants. Later, four of the dead man's accomplices were arrested by authorities.