A shocking encounter with a buffalo bull at Mountain Zebra National Park has left three injured and one man dead.
Johann Schmidt (64) and his wife Marié set off with another married couple, Sam and Marianne Sieberhagen, on the kilometre long Imbila Hiking trail at approximately 11am on Monday morning.
A shocking encounter with a buffalo bull at Mountain Zebra National Park has left three injured and one man dead.
Johann Schmidt (64) and his wife Marié set off with another married couple, Sam and Marianne Sieberhagen, on the kilometre long Imbila Hiking trail at approximately 11am on Monday morning.
Shortly after their departure the group came face-to-face with a male buffalo. The bull proceeded to charge the hikers a number of times, injuring all four of them.
The regional communications park manager Megan Taplin said: “One of the hikers called for help at the reception building and park staff members immediately contacted paramedics and went to the accident scene to assist and administer first aid.”
An ambulance arrived on the scene within 30 minutes and the injured hikers were taken to the nearest hospital in Cradock for treatment.
Rangers then proceeded to track the buffalo, following the trail from the scene of the attack. The buffalo will be put down when it is found.
Park Manager, Lesley-Ann Meyer, said that she was shocked by the incident and expressed her sincere condolences to the relatives of the deceased.
All hiking trails in Mountain Zebra National Park have been closed until further notice. Schmidt was awell-known figure in the wine industry as he was the national sales manager Lourensford Estate.
He resided in Somerset West. and leaves behind his wife Marié and three children.
