Injured buffalo kills Zimbabwean conservationist

A wounded buffalo gored the veteran Zimbabwean conservationist Steve Kok to death, ending his years of dedication to saving wild animals from poachers' traps, colleagues said yesterday. He was 71.

The buffalo, which is known as one of the most aggressive animals in the African bush, had injured its leg, partially severing it, while tearing itself free from a poacher's wire snare. Kok joined park rangers in a week-long search for the wounded animal near the lakeside resort of Kariba in northern Zimbabwe.

Kok, seasoned in bushcraft and tracking, found the buffalo which is thought to have charged him before he could call for help.