American tourist trampled by elephant in tragic Zambia incident

An elephant near Victoria Falls trampled an American tourist. This is already the second fatal elephant attack in Zambia this year.

Sixty-four-year-old Juliana Gle Tourneau from New Mexico was travelling with others in a car that stopped in front of the Maramba Bridge on the Zambezi River near the falls on Wednesday because a herd of elephants appeared nearby.

"They parked off the road on the western side to observe the animals more closely when one of the elephants charged, knocking Ms. Tourneau down before trampling her," Provincial Police Commissioner of Southern Province Auxensio Daka told the media on Friday.

Earlier this March, another American tourist was killed during a safari in Zambia's Kafue National Park in the western part of the country. The elephant attacked their vehicle, overturned it, killed the man, and injured five other people.

The Zambian authorities have called on tourists to exercise caution when observing wildlife throughout the country, reminding them that guides usually instruct tourists on how to read an elephant's behavior.

Most of these animal attacks are only warnings; the elephant usually performs a mock charge to see if the encountered person is a threat. However, if its ears are angled back and its trunk is raised and curled inward, it is better to disappear as quickly as possible.