GWAI, ZIMBABWE — A South African professional big game hunter was crushed to death last Friday afternoon during a hunt in Zimbabwe when an elephant shot by his own hunting group fell on top of him. <br /> <br />Theunis Botha was 51-year-old veteran hunter who often recruited wealthy Americans to take part in big game hunting in Africa. He led leopard- and lion-hunting trips with a pack of dogs for his company, Game Hounds Safaris, South Africa’s Netwerk24 reported. <br /> <br />Last Friday, Botha took a hunting group with him to Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, the same place where the killing of Cecil the Lion sparked a public outcry in 2015. <br /> <br />The group came across a breeding herd of elephants and started firing at them, but the gunshots startled the animals and caused three elephants to charge at the hunters. After Botha shot at the elephants, a fourth elephant rushed in from the side and picked Botha up with its trunk. In an attempt to rescue him, one of the other hunters shot the elephant. <br /> <br />However, instead of putting Botha down, the dying animal collapsed and fell on top of Botha, crushing him to death. <br /> <br />Botha leaves behind a wife and five children. Botha’s wife will travel to Zimbabwe on Monday to identify his body.
