AN Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife ranger with 25 years service, Lance Corporal Jacob Gumbi (55) is recovering in hospital after being attacked by a black rhino in the Mkhuze Game Reserve Section of iSimangaliso on Friday.
He sustained a fractured shoulder and ribs plus internal bleeding in his chest, but is reported to be in a stable condition in the Ngwelezana Hospital in Empangeni.
The KZN Emergency Medical Services’ air ambulance was unable to respond to the emergency due to inclement weather, but Gumbi was taken to Bethesda Hospital by ambulance before being transferred to Ngwelezana.
He was due to undergo an operation later in the day.
Speaking from his hospital bed, Gumbi said that he and a fellow ranger were following a bleeding, female black rhino and its baby.
The rangers wanted to determine the cause of the bleeding.
He said: ‘We kept a safe following distance and then the rhino suddenly turned around and started making her way towards us.
‘We started back-tracking and the rhino charged.
‘We split up, running in different directions, but the rhino followed me.’
Gumbi says he lost his balance and tripped, and the rhino was on him.
He held onto the rhino’s face as it fought to pierce its horn into his chest.
He managed to turn and the horn pierced right through his shoulder.
The rhino then lifted Gumbi into the air.
As quickly as it started, it ended with the rhino running away with the calf.
Gumbi says he still feels disorientated, knowing exactly what happened, but still not believing it.
His wife Gladys, who was at his bedside, said they have five children, three boys working in Witbank and two girls who are still at home.
She was told of the incident by a colleague from the reserve.
She says she has a very heavy heart and feels lonely because the family is worried and their boys are far away.
She says, ‘However, I am thankful that my husband is alive and stable.
‘We are trusting God for healing.’
31 JANUARY 2014
Ranger attacked by rhino
A black rhino attacked a game ranger in Mkhuze Game Reserve yesterday.
It’s unclear what exactly led to the attack but the animal is thought to have been hurt.
According to KwaZulu-Natal emergency management services an air ambulance could not reach the ranger because of poor weather in the area, so colleagues took him to an ambulance waiting for him at the reserve’s gate.
Medics treated the ranger on scene before transporting him to the nearest hospital for further care.
Update to follow
