k s k to Tourists Posed by Wild Mammals in South Africa
David N.Durrheim and PeterA. Leggat
Badground: One of South Africa’s principal tourist attractions is the opportunity t o encounter Africa’s large mammals in
the wild. Attacks by these mammals can be exceptionally newsworthy with potentially deleterious effects on tourism.
Little is known about the risk of injury and death caused by wild mammals to visitors to South Africa’s nature reserves.
The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of fatal and nonfatal attacks on tourists by wild mammals in South
Africa and to ascertain avoidable factors, if any.
Methods: Commercial press records covering all South African Newspapers archived at the Independent Newspapers’
central library were systematically reviewed for a 70-year period, January 1988 to December 1997 inclusive, to identify
all deaths and injuries to domestic and international tourists resulting from encounters with wild mammals in South
Africa. All of these incidents were analyzed to ascertain avoidable factors.
Results: During the review period seven tourists, including two students fromThailand and a German traveler, were killed
by wild mammals in South Africa.Three of the four deaths ascribed to lions resulted from tourists carelessly approaching prides on foot in lion reserves. A judicial inquiry found that the management of a KwaZulu-Natal Reserve was culpable
for the remaining death.Tourist ignorance of animal behavior and flagrant disregard of rules contributed to the two fatalities involving hippopotami.The unusual behavior manifested by the bull elephant responsible for the final death, resulted
from discomfort caused by a dental problem to this pachyderm. During the same period there were 14 nonfatal attacks
on tourists, including five by hippo, three by buffalo, two by rhino, and one each by a lion, leopard, zebra and musth elephant. Only the latter occurred while the visitor was in a motor vehicle.Tourist ethological naivete and failure to determine
the experience of trail guides prior to travel, resulted in inadvertent agonistic behavior, unnecessary risk-taking and avoidable injury.
ConclusionsThis retrospective study has shown that attacks on tourists by wild mammals in South Africa are an uncommon cause of injury and death. Sensible precautions to minimize this risk include remaining in a secure motor vehicle or
adequately fenced precincts while in the vicinity of large mammals, rigidly observing nature reserve instructions, never
approaching animals that appear ill, malnourished, displaying aggressive behavior traits or female wild mammals with
young, and demanding adequately trained and experienced game rangers when embarking on walking trails. Any behavior that might be construed as antagonistic and which could provoke an attack by large mammals should be avoided (e.g.,
driving directly a t a lion). Visitors need to be informed of classic signs of aggression, in particular in elephants, which will
allow timely avoidance measures to be taken.The risk-enhancing effect of excessive alcohol intake is undesirable in the
game reserve setting, as is driving at high speed after dusk in areas where hippos graze. Local advice on personal safety
in wildlife reserves and the credentials of trail guides should be obtained from lodge or reserve management, tourism
authorities or the travel industry prior to travel to game reserves.
South Africa is a burgeoning tourist destination
and the South Afi-ica Tourism Board recorded almost 5
million international visitors to South Africa during
1996, which was a 10% increase when compared to
1995.’ A prime attraction is the opportunity to observe
Africa’s magnificent mammals in the wild. In 1996,
almost 1 million tourists alone visited the Kruger National
David N. Durrheim, MPH TM, MACTM: Consultant in
Communicable Disease Control, Mpumalanga Department of
Health, South Africa; Peter A. Leggat, FAFPHM, FACTM:
Deputy Head, School of Public Health andTropical Medicine,
James Cook University, Australia.
Reprint requests: Dr. David N. Durrheim, Consultant in
Communicable Disease Control, Private Bag X11285,
Nelspruit, 1200, South Africa.
JTravel Med 1999; 6:172-179.
Park, which at over 1.949 million hectares, is the largest
wildlife or nature reserve in a single Af?ican country.’
The capacity of ecotourism to contribute to societal development has been recognized by the South
African government with a resultant White Paper on
Tourism3 Commenting on the W h t e Paper, Mike Fabricius, Chief Director of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, indicated that a 17%growth
in international tourism arrivals to the year 2000 was projected, with a resultant rise in foreign earnings of R23
bihon (US04.6 billion) per annum and sustainable job
creation of between 550,000 and 860,000 (Weekly Mail
and Guardian, April 24-29 edition, 1998).
T ~ Igrowth
S
of tourism in South Akica has also made
it imperative to identify and quantify important risks to
travelers, so that advice and precautions can be based on
sound evidence. Malaria risk, for example, was recently
investigated by means of a postal survey of KNP visitors
and a low attack rate of 4.5 cases of Plasrnodiumfalcipanrm
172
D u r r h e i m a n d L e g g a t , Risk t o T o u r i s t s P o s e d b y Wild M a m m a l s i n S o u t h A f r i c a
malaria per 10,000 visitors during the highest risk month
of April, was d o ~ u m e n t e d . ~
Concern has been expressed that constant harassment, tourist pollution, poaching and in the case of elephants, culling, could lead to the abandonment ofnatural
behavior patterns by large wild mammals and aggressive,
unprovoked attacks on humans.’ Attacks by these mammals can be exceptionally newsworthy with potentially
deleterious effects on tourism. Little is known about
the risk of injury and death caused by wild mammals to
visitors to South Africa’s nature reserves. The aim of this
study was to determine the incidence of fatal and nonfatal attacks on tourists by wild mammals in South Afiica
and to ascertain avoidable factors, if any.
Methods
Interviews with executive staff of the South African
Tourism Board (SATOUR) and Association of South
African Travel Agencies (ASATA),the chief inspector of
the Tourist Safety Task Group of the South African
Police Services, and staff of the Research and Information Unit at the National Parks Board which is the central regulatory body of South African game reserves,
confirmed that no recording system for wildlife-associated tourist injuries existed in South Africa. Similarly,
searches of Medhne and Reuters electronic databases did
not yield any relevant information.
Independent Newspapers, based in Johannesburg,
South Africa, were approached to obtain data on tourist
deaths and injuries. Independent Newspapers publishes
two national weekend newspapers, The Sunday Independent and Saturday Star; two dally papers, Diamond
Fields Advertiser and Pretoria News; and two national
daily newspapers, Business Report and The Star, the
latter enjoying the largest circulation of the group with
a daily readership of 200,000. Independent Newspapers
central library maintains a complete record of articles published in South Africa during the past two decades by
their own and all other national newspapers.
Press records pertaining to tourists, both domestic
and international, and South African wildlife for a 10year period from January 1988 to December 1997 inclusive, were manually examined. A database of all deaths,
injuries .and near mishaps resulting from interaction
between tourists and wild mammals in South Africa
was established. These events were categorized as resulting from interactions with lions, leopards, cheetahs, rhinos, buffalo, hippos, elephants and other wild mammals.
In addition, demographic data available for the tourists
involved in these incidents, together with possible factors contributing to the event, were collected. Reports
in other newspapers were used to verify the completeness and accuracy of reported details.
173
The small number of cases and uncertain denominator of persons at risk, precludes calculation of a reliable risk estimate and statistical analysis of interactions
between covariates. The descriptive approach is therefore adopted tb hghlight avoidable errors prevalent in
t h s case series.
Results
Between January 1988 and December 1997 inclusive, seven tourists were killed by wdd mammals in South
Africa. Three of these were foreigners, two young Thai’s
and a German. During the same period there were 1 1
tourists injured in encounters with wild mammals in various parts of South Akica (Table 1).A description of these
incidents follows.
lions
During the review period, lions were responsible for
four tourist deaths. An elderly tourist from Durban (67),
who was celebrating her husband’s 70rhbirthday at
Phinda Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, during December 1993 was killed in an attack by three lionesses. The
attack occurred while the couple were wallung between
the main lodge restaurant and their sleeping quarters afier
dinner. Her husband was seriously wounded in the
attack. A legal inquiry into this incident resulted in
Phinda Reserve management being found guilty of culpable homicide, for “failing to fence the precinct around
the main lodge, provide reasonable protection and to warn
visitors that dangerous animals did enter the area.”
Reserve management was fined R20,000 (US$4,000).
A month earlier, in November 1993, two Thai
tourists were killed by lions a t the Lion Park near Johannesburg. These tourists, both students, a 24-year-old
male and a 25-year-old female, left their car to pose for
a photograph in front of a pride of lions. This was despite
repeated warning signs next to the road, “You are in lion
country, stay in your car and keep your windows closed.”
At least one student had a reasonable grasp of English,
having been enrolled in an elementary Enghsh course for
5 months prior to the visit.
During September 1989, a 23-year-old male student
from Cape Town was killed and eaten by lions, a t the
Soetdoring Nature Reserve near Bloemfontein, when he
left his car to take photographs. A judicial inquiry into
his death found that he had been drinking heavily prior
to the tragedy. He had not only left his vehicle but
walked 30 meters towards a pride of lions.
Two tourist groups also experienced harrowing,
though nonfatal, encounters with lions. In the first incident, during January 1990, a group of domestic tourists
on a hiking trail in the KNE’ were attacked by two angry
Journal of Travel M e d i c i n e , Volume 6, Number 3
174
Table 1 Tourist Encounters with Wild Mammals in South Africa Resulting in Injury or Death, Jan 1988-0ec 1997
~
Country
No. oforigin Gender Age
~~
OJ
Date
Came Reserve Province* Im'dent
Mammal
Involved
Outcome
Factors
Contributory
Principle
Media Sourcet
1 SA
Female 67
Phnda
KZN
Dec 93
Lion
Fatal
N o fencing of lodge
precincts
Cit, 9/12/93
2 SA
Male
Phinda
KZN
Dec 93
Lion
Nonfatal
Cit. 9/12/93
3 Thailand Female 25
Lion Park
Gau
Nov 93 Lion
Fatal
4 Thailand Male
24
LionPark
Gau
Nov93 Lion
Fatal
N o fencing oflodge
precincts
Left vehicle and
approached lion pride
on foot
Left vehicle and
approached lion pride
on foot
5
Male
23
Soetdoring
FS
Sep89
Lion
Fatal
Alcohol, left velucle
and approached lions
on foot
S, 13/9/89
6 Germany Male
30
Pilansberg
NW
Mar 93
Elephant Fatal
Mpu
Apr 96
Elephant Nonfatal
7
SA
SA
70
Male
unk. Kruger
ST, 7/ 11/93
ST, 7/ I 1/93
Elephant dental abscess, SS, 3/4/93
no evasive action taken
Musth bull, no evasive B, 15/4/96
action taken
Walked into nonfenced Cit, 24/2/93
area, breached rules
8 SA
Female 50
Mabalingwe NP
Feb 93
Hippo
Fatal
9 SA
Female 77
Sanbonani
Mpu
Jd92
Hippo
Fatal
Walked to within two
meters ofhippo calf
S, 17/7/92
10 SA
Female 48
Sanbonani
Mpu
Jul 92
Hippo
Nonfatal
Walked to within two
meters of hippo calf
S, 17/7/92
11 SA
Male
Mabalingwe NP
May91 Hippo
Nonfatal
Blocked hippo's path
S, 8/5/91
to water while on foot
12 SA
Female 16
Lapa-lala
NP
Dec94
Hippo
Nonfatal
13
SA
Male
69
Kruger
MPU
Aug94
Hippo
Nonfatal
Paddling canoe amongst Cit, 16/12/94
hippos
Left vehicle to inspect
S, 16/8/94
injured hippo
14 SA
Male
unk. Hluhluwe
KZN
July94
Hippo
Nonfatal
Blocked hippo's path
S, 12/7/94
to water while on foot
15 SA
Male
43
Kruger
KNP
Mar 93 Rhino
Nonfatal
Walking trail participant ST, 24/3/93
surprised black rhino
16 SA
Male
37
Pilansberg
NW
Mar95
Rhino
Nonfatal
17 SA
Female 32
Hluhluwe
Male unk. Weenen
Male unk. Weenen
KZN
KZN
KZN
Mar97
Buffalo
Nonfatal
Apr92
Apr92
Buffalo
Buffalo
Nonfatal
Nonfatal
Walking trail participant
surprised black rhino
Walking in long grass
Walking in long grass
Walking in long grass
Mpu
Gau
Mar89
Leopard Nonfatal
18 SA
unk.
19 SA
20 Lesotho Male 40 Kruger
21 SA
Female unk. Private
May93 Zebra
Nonfatal
Camping in open tent
Walked close behind
zebra
S, 12/3/95
ST, 3013197
S, 21 /4/92
S, 2 1/4/92
Cit, 6/3/89
SS, 1/5/93
~~~~
'Prowncer KZN = KwaZulu-Natal. Gau = Gauteng, FS = Frce Sate. NW = North West. Mpu = Mpumalanga, NP = Northern Province
+Newspapers Cir = Ctnzen.ST = Sunday Tunes, S = Star, SS = Saturday Star; B = Beeld
lionesses. T h e experienced ranger leadmg the party shot
one lioness and the other fled. In the second incident, a
group of Arab businessmen from Abu Dhabi and O m a n
were terrified when an adult lion swatted the windows
of their minibus in the Lion Park near Johannesburg
d u r i n g D e c e m b e r 1992. Unfortunately t h e driver
responded by accelerating towards t h e lion w h i c h
responded by jumping onto and sinking its claws into the
roof of their vehicle which was similar to the van that
usually delivered food.
D u r r h e i m a n d L e g g a t , R i s k t o T o u r i s t s Posed b y W i l d M a m m a l s i n S o u t h A f r i c a
Elephants
Only one tourist succumbed due to South African
elephants during the period 1987-1997. A 30-year-old
German tourist was photographing two young bull elephants when one charged his vehicle and rolled it. His
3-year-old daughter was thrown out of the vehicle and
he was gored and trampled to death by the two elephants
when he left his vehicle to rescue her. It was later ascertained that the elephant that had led the attack had an
abscess at the base of a tusk (Dr S.Johnson,Bophuthatswana Parks Board, personal communication).
A young bull elephant, orphaned through culling,
charged a tourist without injury in Pilansburg Game
Reserve near Sun City during July 1996. The same elephant stampeded and kded the professional hunter contracted to c d it the following day, after he only managed
to wound it. During the same year, a group of foreign
tourists in an open-air vehicle were charged but with no
resultant injuries in Hluhluwe Game Reserve. Also dur-
175
ing 1996 a domestic tourist from the Cape interrupted
a pair of amorous elephants in the KNP, to the annoyance of the bull. H e responded by attacking the unfortunate voyeur’s trailer, flipping it onto its side and draggmg
it several meters. The tourist only suffered minor cuts and
bruises before other visitors chased the elephant off,but
his vehicle was written off.
Hippopotamus
Hippos were responsible for many attacks on villagers
and illegal migrants in rural areas of the Mpumalanga and
Northern Province Lowveld and northern KwaZuluNatal. Tourists were, however, more fortunate with only
five nonfatal attacks and two fatalities during the 10-year
period under review.
Both fatal attacks involved domestic tourists. During February 1993 a 50-year-old women from Pretoria
was N e d by hippos, at Mabalingwe Nature Reserve near
Warmbaths, while walking alone with her dog during the
Figure 1 Lloyd Wilmot makes off hurriedly during one of the charges and counter-charges before he drove this large
bull elephant out of his safari camp at the Savati Channel in northern Botswana.
J o u r n a l o f T r a v e l M e d i c i n e , Volume 6 , N u m b e r 3
176
late morning. Dogs are not permitted in the camp, visitors a
n cautioned against walking alone and she had wandered beyond the fenced safety area.
Seven months earlier an elderly female visitor f k m
Pretoria was killed and her 48-year-old daughter injured
by a pair of hippos at Sanbonani Resort, Hazyview. This
incident occurred at about 8 pm when the ladies were
walking between the resort restaurant and their holiday
unit. Fdty guests who were watchng the pair ofhippos
grazing, warned the victims against approaching the hippos but they proceeded to walk to within 2 meters of
the calf. The hippo cow responded by knocking over the
older lady, before trampling and biting her to death.
The hippos then turned on the daughter who attempted
to intervene, and she suffered severe bite injuries but
survived.
During May 1991 a Johannesburg businessman visiting Mabalingwe Reserve, Warmbaths, was bitten, and
suffered eight broken ribs, while walking along a riverbank and unwittingly blocking a hippo’s path to water.
In the first of three incidents in 1994, a 16-year-old
Johannesburg schoolgirl, was paralyzed when hippos
struck her canoe at Lapa-lala Game Reserve near Nylstroom. During August of the same year, a 69-year-old
tourist from Howick, near Durban, was attacked in the
KNP by an injured hippo when he got out of his car to
inspect its wounds. His concern was rewarded by being
trampled but he miraculously d e r e d only minor injuries.
Earlier, during July, a domestic visitor on a wilderness trail
in Hluhluwe Game Reserve was bitten on the leg by a
hppopotamus when he obstructed the mammal from a
stream.
Nocturnal excursions by hippos have resulted in at
least four serious motor vehicle accidents during the
period under review, with one death and serious injury
to an additional eight South Afi-icans.
male buffalo while on a game walk at Hluhluwe Game
Reserve during March 1997. The buffalo unexpectedly
stood up in some long grass within a few meters of the
tourist and she suffered a number of broken ribs during
the ensuing trampling. Two male domestic tourists who
left their vehicle after dark to walk in the veldt in the
Weenen Nature Reserve were also surprised,and suffered
minor injuries, when they stumbled onto buffalo sleeping in long grass during April 1992. No tourists deaths
were attributed to buffaloes during the review period.
Leopards
A visitor from Lesotho was clawed at Berg-en-Dal
camping s i t e , W , one evening during 1991 but survived.
Other Mammals
N o records of fatal interactions between tourists and
any other wild mammals were unearthed. The only
other tourist injured by a wild mammal fell foul of a zebra.
She suffered bruises after being kicked while walking
behind a zebra drinking water from a swimming pool
in a game lodge during May 1993.
Discussion
Rhinoceros
No tourist deaths were attributed to rhinos during
the review period. A shared feature of the two nonfatal
black rhino attacks on tourists was that both occurred
on walking trails in game reserves. During March 1993,
a male visitor from Benoni, near Johannesburg, was flung
into the air by one of four charging black rhinos while
on the Napi walking trail in the KNP. In the other
encounter 2 years later, a black rhino charged a p u p
of tourists on a wallcing tra~Iin Pilansberg Game Reserve,
injuring a visitor h m Johannesburg. A ranger was gored
when he attempted to lure a female rhino for a wallung
party by imitating the sounds of a young rhino.
This study shares the limitations inherent to studies utilizing retrospective data sources not specifically
designed for use in research, in this instance press case
reports. Duplicate reports from multiple newspapers,
however, allowed verification of the completeness and
accuracy of data.
Unfortunately exact proportions of the tourism
market that visited specific nature reserves or wild life
parks are not available, and so a precise denominator for
calculating risk of fatal encounters with wild mammals
remains elusive. However, the small number of fatalities
documented would simply make this a theoretical
exercise.
There are a number of important features underlying the fatal and nonfatal interactions between tourists
and wild African mammals which permit recommendations that may contribute to preventing future unfortunate episodes. A basic understandmg of the dominance
hierarchies prevalent in most wild mammal species,
where an-individual animal’s rank depends on its fighting ability and attack and defence are both reckoned as
antagonistic behaviors, plus an appreciation of the power
and species-specific behavioral attributes ofparticular large
&can mammals should allow tourism authorities and
the travel industry to develop a set of golden rules in personal safety for travelers interacting with these mammals.6
Buffalo
Lion
\Xlalhng trail enthusiasts bore the brunt of buffalo
attacks. A South African nurse was charged by an adult
Although lions have been feared since earliest
recorded history, with this dread probably origmating from
D u r r h e i m a n d L e g g a t , Risk t o T o u r i s t s P o s e d b y W i l d M a m m a l s i n S o u t h A f r i c a
ancient Egypt where Sekhmet, the lion-headed goddess,
was the most bloodthirsty of all Egyptian deities, preying on people is considered a behavioral aberration.’ This
unusual behavior usually results from extreme hunger,
disability, disturbances to the ecosystem caused by agricultural developments, constant harassment, tourist pollution or poaching.8
The impact of unnatural environments and continuous tourist harassment is clearly reflected in three of the
four fatal encounters documented in the present case series.
All three student fatalities occurred in s m a l l reserves or
high volume “drive-through” zoos, similar to the safari
parks found in Europe where natural ranging is severely
restricted. There is little chance of survival for any person venturing out of a vehicle and approaching fiustrated
lions (Pantheraleo) which at 240 kg are the largest of &can
carnivores and boast a top speed of nearly 60 km/hr.’ Inebriation was found to have been a contributory factor to
the South African student’s demise.
The incident at Phinda emphasizes the importance
of safety measures in camp precincts. Many of the more
responsible ventures insist on tourists being accompanied
by an armed and experienced ranger in nonfenced areas.
It must be emphasised that tourists should remain
in a secure vehicle when in “lion-country.’’ It is also
imperative that prospective travelers should check with
game reserve management regarding safety measures in
walking areas, prior to booking.
Elephants
A common misconception is that elephants are
aggressively territorial, but although they occupy a home
range they will usually not defend it. Although the
African elephant (Loxodonta afTicana), with a shoulder
height of up to 4 meters and a mass of 6000 kg (males),
is an awesome spectacle and despite the fact that their
tusks are formidable weapons, these are usually only
used in defence, as elephants are, on the whole, peaceful mammals.”
Elephants can however become extraordinarily
aggressive when they are sick, injured or harassed, if they
have young calves or if they live in or have been moved
from an area where elephants have been hunted.8 This
may explain the behavior of the translocated Pilansberg
bull suffering kom a tooth abscess. The aggressive response
of his companion is a well documented phenomenon,
where the aggressive behavior of an elephant has a cascading effect on the rest of the herd.
Musth in African elephants, which is driven by a
surge of testosterone and is apparent by the secretion of
fluid from the temporal glands between the eye and ear
on the side of the elephant’s face, is present during rutting and a wide variety of stressful circumstances. The
swaggering musth bull can be vigorously aggressive to
177
other elephant bulls, other mammals such as rhinoceroses or people, as reflected by the episode of the bull
that dragged the car and trailer in the KNP
Both incidents may have been averted as an elephant
usually displays his aggressive intent before charging.
The large ears, which serve as blood vessel-rich radiators, betray the “pachyderm’s” mood and are held outward in the aggressive elephant as it kicks the ground and
sways backwards and forwards prior to embarlung on a
charge which may reach 40 krn/hr.’ Another prominent
warning signal given by the alarmed or aggressive elephant is an unmistakable trumpet fiom a raised trunk.
Elephants loathe loud noises which Hannibal learned to
his detriment on the battlefield.’
It is essential that all travelers maintain a safe distance
from elephants and that visitors to game reserves are made
aware of the obvious danger signs of musth or the initial auricular display of an aggressive elephant and the
necessity of taking immediate evasive action.
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus (Hippopotatnus amphibirrs) has a
huge mass, with an adult male being the biggest animal
in the world to live in fresh water and weighing up to
3000 kg.” Their huge triangular canines are kept honed
by constant abrasion with the corresponding teeth of the
other powerful jaw and these can bisect a human body
with a single bite.
More local people are killed by hippos than by any
other African mammal. In water they are usually victorious over crocodiles and will also attack boats that
approach too close. This is particularly true of cows
with calves. They pose considerable danger in water as
illustrated by the case of the young school-girl canoeist,
due to their ability to remain submerged and thus invisible for up to 6 minutes.
Males are territorial and the herd bull establishes
pear-shaped territories, with the narrow portion being
where it emerges from the water. These territories are
marked by dung splattering on rocks and bushes by tail
wagging during defecation.” Hippos emerge kom water
at sundown to graze for 5 o r 6 hours on succulent
grasses, usually returning to the water by 4 am. A hippo
may eat 130 kg of grass during a expedition and when
food is scarce hippos may roam as far as 30 km in a night
to find grazing.’ During these wanderings they may
cross roads and pose a considerable threat to vehicles traveling at excessive speed. A hippo returning to water will
trample any obstruction to its passage as exemplified by
the Mabalingwe and Hluhluwe attacks. O n land they are
surprisingly agile and can charge at 40 km/hr making it
difficult to escape.
A female leaves the herd to give birth and is
extremely protective of her calf, with a tendency to
178
attack when disturbed. The Sanbonani attack, where
the elderly lady and her daughter approached a calf, did
not therefore represent unexpected behavior.
Travelers to game reserves should be warned about
the territorial nature of hippos and their nocturnal grazing behavior. They should be cautioned about approaching hippos on foot and be made aware of the danger of
driving at high speed afier dusk in areas where hppos
graze. Under no circumstances should tourists walk,
swim, or row on or near bodies of water known to be
inhabited by hippos.
Rhino
At 2200 kg, the square-lipped white rhino (Cerutorhen'um simum) is considerably larger than its hookedlipped black relative (Diceros bicoomis) at 850 kg, but it is
the black rhino that has a tempestuous reputation. Bulls
from both species are territorial and mark their territories by urination and defecation along the boundaries.
The black rhino is most likely to attack at speeds exceeding 40 km/hr, if taken by surprise, in estrous or when
leadmg a calf which it will defend against real o r potential danger.8 A r h o ' s eyesight is poor and so, as demonstrated by the current study, when wallung in areas
known to host rhino, it is sensible not to move too quietly so that rhinos are warned and can move away.
In South Africa, game rangers are graded on a fourlevel grading system where grade is dependent on accredited training and relevant supervised experience.
Remuneration is proportional to grade, and unfortunately
there is no minimum legislated prerequisite grade for trail
guides. Larger game reserves and lodges usually insist on
grade 3 or 4 trail guides but smaller concern may be more
flexible with attendant potential risk to visitors. Inexperienced rangers can prove a menace, if in their creative
anempts to provide close encounters with large mammals they resort to irresponsible behavior like imitating
the sounds of a young rhno.
Once again it is more sensible to remain in a secure
vehicle, but those preferring to explore a game reserve
on foot should insist on a trail guide with a grading of
3 or 4 and should confirm this with the game reserve or
lodge prior to departure. When walking in areas where
black rhinos may be present, it is preferable not to move
too quietly so that rhinos are not surprised and are presented with the opportunity to withdraw.
Buffdo
The buffalo (Spcems cufer) is an impressive bovine
with males weighing in excess of 800 kg and standing
1.4 meters at the shoulder. When in herds buffalo are usu3lly placid but old bulls are particularly irascible and
prone tn charge when disturbed. The threatening poscuring IS distinctive, with the head and nose held high
J o u r n a l of T r a v e l M e d i c i n e , V o l u m e 6, Number 3
or lateral display o f the massive body to the opponent.
This is often followed by head tossing.'
B U B Oare sensitive to heat and move into shade during the heat of day and often choose to conceal themselves in long grass or reeds, which may prove particularly
hazardous to walking trail participants." This was a
common feature of the attacks on tourists in this study
who unwittingly disturbed i&ng bovine.
Buffalo pose a greater threat to walking trail participants and therefore tourists should insist on being led
by a knowledgeable and experienced game ranger (grade
3 or 4). In areas where buffalo are known to graze, walking parties should be advised to remain away fi-om shaded
areas o r long grass that provide ideal camouflage to this
enormous bovine. T h e distinctive aggressive posturing
and head-tossing should induce immediate evasive action
by any tourist.
leopards
Leopard (Pantheru purdus) with their smaller size
have seldom been implicated in fatal attacks on humans,
an exception being the infamous Chambisi leopard (in
Zambia) that is reputed to have lulled 67 people. Leopards do however have the propensity to get through
open doors or windows of bungalows, or tents that are
not sealed as the visitor from Lesotho discovered. A
trapped leopard will attack in defence.
I t is therefore advisable that all windows and doors
are secured or adequately screened at night in African
game reserves, and that tents are securely zipped.
Zebra
Burchelli zebra (Equus burchellt) is usually a peaceful animal but when under perceived threat of attack it
will utter a squeal and bite or lash out with a kick that
can kill a spotted hyena.* T h e only tourist recorded to
have suffered a kick fiom a zebra, approached it f?om
behind while it was drinking from a swimming pool at
a private lodge.
Equine authorities warn against approaching a horse
from behind and the same advice applies to its untamed
cousin. I '
Conclusions
The discipline of travel medicine is founded on
defining the magnitude and nature of risk and then providing travelers with the means for reducing their risk,
primarily by behavior modification.'2 This retrospective
study has shown that attacks on tourists by wild mammals in South Afiica are an uncommon cause of injury
and death. Sensible precautions to minimize this risk
include: remaining in a secure motor vehicle or adequately
fenced precincts while in the vicinity of large mammals;
D u r r h e i m a n d Leggat, Risk t o Tourists Posed b y W i l d M a m m a l s i n S o u t h Africa
rigidly observing nature reserve instructions, never
approaching animals that appear ill, malnourished, displaying aggressive behavioral traits or females with young;
demanding adequately trained and experienced game
rangers when embarking on a walking trail and ensuring that they have adequate travel insurance, including
aeromedical evacuation contingency plans. l 3 Reasons
contributing to the low risk of death from wild mammals in South Afi-ica may include the travel industry’s
attempts to separate humans from dangerous situations
and efforts by travelers to educate themselves and to take
reasonable care.
Any behavior that might be construed as antagonistic
and provoke attack by large mammals should be avoided
(e.g., driving directly at a lion) and visitors need to be
informed of classic signs of aggression, in particular in
elephants, which will allow timely avoidance measures.
The risk-enhancing effect of excessive alcohol intake is
undesirable in the game reserve setting, as is driving at
high speeds afier dusk in areas where hippos graze. Local
advice on personal safety in wildlife reserves and the credentials of trail guides should be provided or obtained
from lodge or reserve management, tourism authorities
or the travel industry prior to travel.
Acknowledgment
We wish to acknowledge Shelagh Watt, Chief
Librarian of Independent Newspapers, South Africa, for
179
granting access to library records and assisting with file
retrieval.
References
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international tourism market. August 1997, Pretoria.
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3. Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, South
African National Government. Tourism White Paper. June
1997, Pretoria.
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London: Collins, 1986.
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