Zimbabwe hunter 'crushed to death by shot elephant'

A professional big-game hunter was crushed to death
 by an elephant that had been shot, according to reports in South Africa.

According to the ERICGOSSIP TV, an elephant cow stormed a group headed by Theunis Botha in Zimbabwe on Friday.

The elephant was reportedly shot as she picked him up
 with her trunk, before she fell and died, crushing Mr Botha.

He had been leading a group of hunters near the Hwange national park in Zimbabwe when he died.

It is the same park where Cecil the Lion was shot dead 
by an American hunter in July 2015, sparking an international outcry.

Mr Botha, 51, was a father of five from the northern
 Limpopo province in South Africa.

His eldest daughter Marike confirmed her father's death
 to the ERICGOSSIP, but would not comment further on the circumstances of his death.

Mr Botha's website says he began leading hunting safaris
 on private ranches in 1989, having previously served as a sergeant in the South African infantry.

It said he specialised in hunting lions and leopards with 
dogs. His website lists various packages available to 
hunters in Zimbabwe, noting that animals including
 leopards, giraffes, buffalo and elephants could be hunted.

A Facebook tribute by Zimbabwe-based Kuronda Safaris, which worked with Mr Botha, called him "a great man with
a fantastic sense of humour".

South African media reported that Mr Botha was friends 
with fellow hunter Scott Van Zyl, whose remains were 
found in a crocodile last month.

Mr Van Zyl was killed on the banks of the Limpopo river
 in Zimbabwe in what was the latest in a series of fatal crocodile attacks in the country.