In a tragic turn of events, a safari-park owner known for his deep respect for wildlife was fatally trampled by an elephant at his own reserve in South Africa. Gary Freeman, 65, who had previously expressed a willingness to risk his life rather than harm an elephant, met his untimely end during a safari tour at Klaserie Private Nature Reserve in the Limpopo province.

On April 9, Freeman, a seasoned safari tour guide, was leading a small group of tourists when a rogue elephant suddenly launched a charge at him, as reported by the Daily Mail. Despite his experience and attempts to diffuse the situation, Freeman did not fire his weapon.

“Gary tried to break the charge, but he never fired a shot. The elephant was very quickly on him, and it was, as you imagine, not pleasant,” a source recounted. The sheer force of the six-ton animal made it impossible to halt the attack. “Fortunately,” the source added, “it was all over quickly.”

The four tourists accompanying Freeman acted swiftly, helping him into a vehicle in a desperate bid to seek medical aid. Sadly, their efforts were in vain. “He had succumbed to his dreadful injuries,” the source confirmed, marking a somber end to a life dedicated to the appreciation of wildlife.

The four tourists on the tour helped get Freeman into a vehicle and “rushed him to try and get medical attention, but nothing could be done,” the source said.

“He had succumbed to his dreadful injuries,” the source said.

A previous visitor to the 148,000-acre park said Freeman had a deep connection to elephants.

“In the past, we have heard Gary speak of his deep respect and love for the elephants,” wrote Judy Connors of Johannesburg in a Facebook tribute.

“He said he would rather be killed by an elephant than shoot one. Perhaps this is what I want to believe, but there must have been a special bond, soul-to-soul, for this elephant to be the chosen one tasked with his deliverance,” Connors said.

Freeman graduated from college with a mechanical-engineering degree but became a ranger and ran the safari company he co-owned for 33 years.

He co-founded Klaserie in 1969, when 36 farm owners merged to create one of South Africa’s biggest Big Five game reserves.

Police in Limpopo have opened an inquest into what happened, and experts have been called in to assess whether the elephant is a threat to others.

Although elephant attacks are rare, between 300 and 600 people are killed by the animals annually, according to figures.

In January, nearly two dozen people were killed and 15 were injured by an elephant that went on a 10-day rampage through multiple towns and villages in India.