Theunis Botha likely wouldn’t want to be considered a poster person for any cause.
He was a South African outfitter and big-game hunter who died in the act of killing a dangerous animal. A lot of folks know the story already.
Botha was leading a group of hunters in Zimbabwe when they encountered a groupĀ of elephants. Three of the beasts charged the hunters, one of whom shot one of them. The mortally wounded elephant then grabbed Botha with her trunk and then collapsed, crushing Botha to death.
The man’s death leaves me with terribly mixed feelings. Part of me feels badly for the family he leaves behind. Another part of me questions the whole notion of trophy hunting.
I’ll stipulate that I am not a hunter. Yes, I’ve packed a rifle into the woods in search of game. I have done so a couple of times in my life. To be candid, I do not grasp the thrill of shooting a creature just so I can have it stuffed and displayed.
That’s the kind of activity that Botha engaged in.
This man’s death has reopened some discussion about the merits of this type of hunting. Indeed, tracking and hunting the biggest of game animals — such as elephants — is dangerous in the extreme.
Wildlife experts have had this discussion already in recent months. You’ll recall the Minnesota dentist, Walter Palmer, who shot Cecil the Lion to death in a notorious incident that called attention to hunting methods; outfitters lured Cecil away from his protected refuge and then Palmer shot the big cat repeatedly before the beast died.
I suspect this story about Theunis Botha will rattle around the planet for a time before receding as the world’s attention gets yanked away to other matters.
At least his demise — caused by one of his victims — might spur some more constructive discussion about this notion of hunting trophy animals that already are facing increasing pressure from humans encroaching on their habitat.