{"id":13836,"date":"2016-02-02T06:06:48","date_gmt":"2016-02-02T06:06:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/?p=13836"},"modified":"2016-02-02T06:12:30","modified_gmt":"2016-02-02T06:12:30","slug":"pilot-died","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/pilot-died","title":{"rendered":"An Anti-Poaching Pilot Was Shoot Down And Killed In Tanzania"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"a6b39195b99473d6c9dd698db2668010\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:2px 0 2px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<center>\r\n\r\n<script type='text\/javascript'>\r\nfunction ShorterThan(widthMax) {\r\n                if (screen.width < widthMax) {return true;}  \r\n                else {return false}\r\n    }\r\nvar LimitWidth = 728\r\nvar MobileZoneID = 348996\r\nvar DesktopZoneID = 348995   \r\n<!--\/\/<![CDATA[\r\n   document.MAX_ct0 ='';\r\n   var m3_u = (location.protocol=='https:'?'https:\/\/cas.criteo.com\/delivery\/ajs.php?':'https:\/\/cas.criteo.com\/delivery\/ajs.php?');\r\n   var m3_r = Math.floor(Math.random()*99999999999);\r\n   document.write (\"<scr\"+\"ipt type='text\/javascript' src='\"+m3_u);\r\n   if (ShorterThan(LimitWidth)) {document.write (\"zoneid=\"+MobileZoneID);} else {document.write (\"zoneid=\"+DesktopZoneID);}\r\n   document.write(\"&nodis=1\");\r\n   document.write ('&cb=' + m3_r);\r\n   if (document.MAX_used != ',') document.write (\"&exclude=\" + document.MAX_used);\r\n   document.write (document.charset ? '&charset='+document.charset : (document.characterSet ? '&charset='+document.characterSet : ''));\r\n   document.write (\"&loc=\" + escape(window.location));\r\n   if (document.referrer) document.write (\"&referer=\" + escape(document.referrer));\r\n   if (document.context) document.write (\"&context=\" + escape(document.context));\r\n   if ((typeof(document.MAX_ct0) != 'undefined') && (document.MAX_ct0.substring(0,4) == 'http')) {\r\n       document.write (\"&ct0=\" + escape(document.MAX_ct0));\r\n   }\r\n   if (document.mmm_fo) document.write (\"&mmm_fo=1\");\r\n   document.write (\"'><\/scr\"+\"ipt>\");\r\n\/\/]]>--><\/script>\r\n<\/center>\n<\/div>\n<p>A helicopter was shot down by an AK-47 rifle in Tanzania. British helicopter pilot, Roger Gower, died in the attack. Three men have been arrested for the shooting.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>A brave man<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gower and safari guide Nicky Bester were on an anti-poaching mission with Friedkin Conservation Fund and the Tanzanian wildlife authorities. They were tracking the poachers who had killed three elephants in Maswa Game Reserve &#8211; which is in the north of the country and borders Serengeti National Park. Rounds from an AK-47 rifle were fired from the ground. A bullet smashed through the floor of the helicopter, hit Gower twice, and then exited through the roof. In his final moments, Gower maneuvered the helicopter into a tree so that the craft would not explode and so that his companion could be able to jump out of the aircraft. Bester managed to hide from the poachers and call for help, but Gower died from his injuries before he could be rescued; he was 37. Tanzania\u2019s former tourism minister Lazaro Nyalandu said:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;<strong>Capt. Roger represented the very best in<\/strong> <strong>human spirit. He loved people and the wildlife. He died serving both.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13837\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13837\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-13837\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/580.jpg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"710\" height=\"426\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/580.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/580-600x360.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/580-450x270.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/580-150x90.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/580-85x51.jpg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13837\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/f345a5fec11ff0f902fd4af5009fafb7b38e5989\/380_134_580_348\/master\/580.jpg?w=620&amp;q=85&amp;auto=format&amp;sharp=10&amp;s=e6ce33e91b86352f31ad07ac7fd716c0\" target=\"_blank\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>The violence is not surprising<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The top poachers can be compared to organized crime gangs. They are often very violent, armed with sophisticated military weapons, and connected with other criminals. The high demand for ivory in countries like China and Vietnam has increased poaching throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldanimalprotection.org\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">World Animal Protection<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> stated that 53 rangers died protecting animals last year. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>&#8220;While many would be shocked to see violence at this level, it is a sad reflection of a brutal industry that incidents like this, while uncommon, are not surprising,&#8221; a spokeswoman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2016-01-31\/anti-poaching-pilot-death-not-surprising-animal-activists-say\/7128194\">told the ABC<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Nicola Beynon, Head of Campaigns, said:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong> &#8220;People at the top of the poaching wildlife industry are the most ruthless, they don&#8217;t care about animals and they don&#8217;t care about people.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13838\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13838\" style=\"width: 707px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-13838\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/3.jpg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"707\" height=\"486\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/3.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/3-600x412.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/3-85x58.jpg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 707px) 100vw, 707px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13838\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/--Tx-O5HEb9Q\/VqzziCMlXJI\/AAAAAAAAxCI\/KeEKwVvKiuA\/s1600\/3.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Suspects arrested<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Three men have been arrested in connection with the attack. Natural resources and tourism minister Jumanne Maghembe assured that:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong> \u201cThe suspects are in the hands of police. They are cooperating, and soon more people making up the poaching gang will be netted and brought to justice.\u201d \u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It is not yet known what the men will be charged with, but according to Pascal Shelutete &#8211; a spokesman from Tanzania National Parks:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong> \u201cThree elephant carcasses that were found indicated that whoever shot the chopper down was on a serious illegal hunting spree.\u201d \u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Pratik Patel, a friend of Gower\u2019s who was also on the operation, said that they had found evidence of ivory. He also speculated that the gun used to kill his friend was the same one used on the elephants.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13839\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13839\" style=\"width: 704px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-13839\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/cadir2xwcae_i0r.jpg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"704\" height=\"469\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/cadir2xwcae_i0r.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/cadir2xwcae_i0r-85x57.jpg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 704px) 100vw, 704px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13839\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/CaDIR2xWcAE_i0R.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>A war situation<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to Andy Payne, the director of the conservation:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong> &#8220;This sad loss is indeed evidence of how far armed poachers are prepared to go in order to protect themselves when threatened with an active anti-poaching force.\u201d <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He was surprised since they had been doing aerial patrols for seven years and their pilots had never been targeted before. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>&#8220;We will continue the fight to protect Tanzania&#8217;s wildlife and habitat in memory of Roger and the work he did.&#8221; \u00a0The chief executive of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.war-international.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Wildlife at Risk International<\/a>, Marleen Le Febvre, said that fighting poachers has become a war situation. \u00a0\u201c&#8230;the people at the frontlines are risking their lives every day while trying to protect elephants and other species from being wiped out,&#8221; she said. \u00a0&#8220;This incident is a new low and has definitely crossed a new very sad and worrying line.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13840\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13840\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13840\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/828e53af-70ac-442e-b246-9125926a1c01-2060x1236.jpeg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"700\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/828e53af-70ac-442e-b246-9125926a1c01-2060x1236.jpeg 700w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/828e53af-70ac-442e-b246-9125926a1c01-2060x1236-600x360.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/828e53af-70ac-442e-b246-9125926a1c01-2060x1236-450x270.jpeg 450w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/828e53af-70ac-442e-b246-9125926a1c01-2060x1236-150x90.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/828e53af-70ac-442e-b246-9125926a1c01-2060x1236-85x51.jpeg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13840\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/static-secure.guim.co.uk\/sys-images\/Guardian\/Pix\/pictures\/2015\/3\/23\/1427124948757\/828e53af-70ac-442e-b246-9125926a1c01-2060x1236.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/tourists-lion\">SEE ALSO:\u00a0Tourists Help Save A Lion Trapped By Poachers In South Africa.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<!--CusAds0-->\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A helicopter was shot down by an AK-47 rifle in Tanzania. British helicopter pilot, Roger<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":13837,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>An Anti-Poaching Pilot Was Shoot Down And Killed In Tanzania<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The suspects have been arrested.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/pilot-died\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An Anti-Poaching Pilot Was Shoot Down And Killed In Tanzania\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The suspects have been arrested.\" 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