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news
Giraffe chasing bike rider in 2013 YouTube stillGiraffe thought to have “trampled cyclist to death,” say South African police (+ video)
A cyclist found dead next to his bike on a game reserve in South Africa is believed to have been trampled to death by a giraffe, say local police.
Braam Boose’s body was found on Sunday in an area with a large population of giraffes by a group of walkers who were also staying at the Thaba Monate Lodge near Bela Bela in the Limpopo province.
The 45-year-old, who had gone out on his own for a bike ride on Sunday afternoon, had been on holiday on the game reserve with his family, reports The Daily Telegraph.
Colonel Ronel Otto of the South African Police Service, said: "It is suspected that he was killed by a giraffe. They look at the specific injuries that he had, it looks like he was basically trampled."
While giraffes, which are herbivores, are not generally aggressive towards people, they can be if they feel threatened.
Nevertheless, incidents of humans being killed by the creatures are rare.
A dog walker was killed, also in Limpopo province, in 2010, while an American tourist is thought to have been killed by one at a country club close to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, in 2002.
There is at least one recorded instance caught on film of a giraffe behaving aggressively towards cyclists, shown in this YouTube video taken at Groenkloof Nature Reserve in Pretoria, South Africa, in 2013.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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6 comments
It seems no one likes mountain bikers not even giraffes.
This has given me an idea - Strava segments through the lion and monkey enclosures at Longleat.
A couple of years ago the Tour of Britain had a TT that started in Knowsley safari park. One of last year's stages started there as well, I think. A couple of tweaks to the route and Bob's your uncle. Andre "the gorilla" Greipel should be right at home.
Perhaps he discovered the giraffe in flagrante and paid with his life. Giraffes can be very grumpy.
One does not simply ride your bike in a reserve filled with wild animals. Not the brightest idea, hey bru?
I - and many other readers on here I'm sure - ride in nature reserves filled with wild animals all the time, although the animals in question are mainly waterfowl, squirrels and deer. There's always the risk of being goosed by a goose, or Tufty going for your nuts.
The reserve in question may have only had larger prey animals (giraffe, zebra, springbok) and no large predator (lions) so would be relatively safe as long as you maintain your distance, don't threaten the wildlife and back down if the warning signs are there.
The fact that a group of walkers found the body suggests it was considered safe enough to be on foot in the reserve.
Whether he deliberately tried to approach the giraffe, or stumbled across one we'll never know (unless he had a helmet-cam) but seems likely he then didn't read the giraffe's body language or reacted in a way that seemed more threatening and unfortunately the giraffe acted in its own self defence.