I am sad to announce that David Winhall PH at the Rifa Conservation Education Camp near Chirundu was killed by an elephant this morning whilst guiding a group of school children on an educational walk near the camp.

Full details are yet to emerge.

Please hold Dave and his family in your prayers.

Wow!

This is the worst news!

Getting hurt while hunting does not surprise me.

But taking kids out for education??

Very sad indeed an condolences to his family.

That is tragic, hope the kids were not hurt, they will still have this memory for the rest of their lives.

Prayers and condolences to his family and friends.

Deepest condolences.

Very sorry to hear this sad news. My condolences to friends and family.

Very sad.

No one else was hurt. Looks like he did what he was meant to do, protect the kids. He is a HERO.

I will update once we receive the report.

Condolences to the family and friends.

A tragic incident involving a party of school children occurred in 2009 in the photographic area of the Selous Game Reserve where the professional guide lost his life under similar circumstances.

Prayers up for a good man that clearly understood the word "duty".

Mark

Terrible tragedy, very sad indeed. He died with the honor of protecting others, heroic!

So sorry to hear this news. Tough times. RIP
Bruce

A tragic occurrence.

He died doing his duty, protecting folks.

Terrible news. My deepest condolences to his family and friends.

RIP

Once a dangerous game animal, always a dangerous game animal.
Not saying this is the case in this sad instance but often see video of PH's closing in on elephants and then having to shout or fire over their heads to stop a charge, false or real.
If the animal decides its for real then the PH and any hunters with him are going to have to make it good otherwise they'll likely meet their maker.

A terrible situation for kids to see and have to deal with. Without further information, it would have been traumatic for the kids to even witness an elephant being shot if that occurred to try and save lives.

Sad news truly. He did his job and none of the kids were hurt. Brave man who did his job. Small comfort to his family, but ...

Very sad indeed.

Oh, boy. Would it not be common to carry a big rifle on such excursions esp in light of being with little ones?

Dave carried a .458 win mag and .357 revolver

Wow. Does anyone have an accurate report of exactly what happened? How.awful.

I am on the committee administering the RCEC so will report once we have concluded

Very Sad news!

Report by ZHA/ RIFA on the tragic incident at Rifa Conservation Education Camp on 27th July 2022.
The conservation education walk took place up Shumba hill just behind the camp which is a normal route walked on a weekly basis. On the way back to camp, the group came upon a herd of elephants which were well sighted in time. Dave Winhall, who was leading the walk, directed Phil to extract backwards with the group
as the elephants were milling around and such a situation is unpredicatable . Dave stayed upfront and Phil moved the group back and away.
What transpired thereafter cannot be 100 % verified. It would appear there was a charge by an elephant and a shot was heard.After ensuring group safety and that the elephant had left and the area was clear, Phil returned to where Dave was last seen and found him dead. It was evident that Dave had been killed instantly. Dave was an experienced professional and highly cognisant of bush and wildlife safety at all times. The safety of the education group on the walk was first priority to him and Phil and it is evident that protocols were observed and adhered to in this instance. The matter is with Zimparks and we stand guided accordingly. The bush and wildlife is always going to have uncertainty but the shock of such a tragedy is difficult to fathom. Dave was a life long conservationist and professional guide/hunter and a dedicated member of staff at Rifa Conservation Education Camp since 2009 where he poured his life and soul into conservation education. He will be sadly missed and our deepest sympathy goes out to Elspeth and Dave's family.

Terrible. Prayers for his family and friends.

Not known of course, but no mention of an elephant being killed or wounded.

Guess is he tried a warning shot, and that did not work, but was not able for a follow up shot.

This is of course only a guess.

I would love the hear any other facts.

I have been hunting elephants for over 40 years.

Got charged numerous times, but the elephants always stopped short, or we were able to get out of their sights.

My own frame of mind has always been not to shoot until it is absolutely necessary.

And when that happens, shoot to kill.

One only gets a single shot at a charging animal.

Such terrible news. Dave's cheeky smile and good humour will be missed by all that knew him. Condolences to Elsbeth and the rest of the Winnal family! RIP Dave

It seems from holzer375's information that the saving grace was the kids did not witness the tragic event.
Without witnesses it may never be known exactly what happened after Phil and the group made it safely away from the herd.

My deepest condolences

Very sad. I may be wrong, but I imagine PHs guiding non-hunting groups feel greater pressure, either organizationally or personally, to avoid killing an animal (and take on more personal risk) than they would in a hunting situation.

Very sad this..

quote:

Originally posted by vvreddy:
Very sad. I may be wrong, but I imagine PHs guiding non-hunting groups feel greater pressure, either organizationally or personally, to avoid killing an animal (and take on more personal risk) than they would in a hunting situation.

You may well be correct here. A hunting party usually has a government game ranger accompanying them to verify everything is within the law or regulations and in the event of an animal having to be shot to protect the lives of those in the party the game ranger will vouch for the legitimacy of this, hopefully.

I don't know if such rangers accompany non-hunting groups so there may well be some greater hesitation in taking a killing shot if things start to go south.

Sorry to hear this. Condolences to family. RIP to a hero.