A toddler was trampled to death and her mother seriously injured during an attack by a giraffe on a conservancy in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, the police said on Thursday.
According to the police, the incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon at the luxury Kuleni Game Park near Hluhluwe in KwaZulu-Natal.
Although details are still sketchy, it is said that the giraffe attacked the 16-month-old girl and her mother out of the blue.
An inquest has been opened to determine what happened.
“The circumstances surrounding the attack are still under investigation,” police spokesperson Nqobile Gwala said.
The girl’s mother, who is believed to be an employee at the conservancy, is fighting for her life in a Durban hospital.
It is unusual for giraffes to attack people and they are a common feature in game lodges in South Africa.
JN/APA