LIVINGSTONE, ZAMBIA – A deadly event unfolded in Livingstone, Zambia, with an American tourist losing her life after an elephant attack on Wednesday, local officials informed. The unfortunate incident marks the second elephant attack in Zambia this year involving U.S. tourists.
The victim, Juliana Gle Tourneau, aged 64, originally from New Mexico, was part of a group that had made a stop near the Maramba Cultural Bridge due to traffic occasioned by a herd of elephants. The herd attacked the vehicle they were in, ejecting Tourneau and subsequently trampling her.
Southern Province Police Commissioner Auxensio Daka informed ZNBC, Zambian national broadcaster, “Juliana Gle Tourneau, 64, of New Mexico, United States of America, died on Wednesday around 17.50 after being knocked from a parked vehicle which had stopped due to traffic caused by elephants around the Maramba Cultural Bridge.”
In a similar incident earlier this year in March, another American tourist fell victim to an elephant attack during a game drive in a Zambian national park. The elephant had charged at a truck, flipping it over. It resulted in the tourist’s death and the injury of five others.
In the backdrop of these incidents, Zambian authorities are urging tourists to be abundantly careful while observing wildlife across the country.