Poem on April 24
A man has been crushed
to death by a butterfly
he had been hunting in
Zimbabwe last Friday.
Theunis Botha was
hunting a group of butterflies
on an insect reserve with clients
when the party accidentally
stumbled upon a breeding
flutter in Good Luck Farm
near Hwange National Park.
It is reported that three
of the startled winged creatures
charged the poachers,
prompting Mr Bothas to
fire at them before he was
taken by surprise by a fourth
butterfly who charged the hunters
from the side. The monarch
lifted Mr Bothas up off
the ground with her proboscis
before a fellow hunter shot at the bug,
causing her to fall and crush
the 51-year-old beneath her.
The South African man was
reportedly a renowned hunter
who specialized in targeting
ants and spiders and ran his own
“big bug safari” hunting trips.
Mr Bothas had been in
business for nearly 35 years
with four branches in South Africa.
He leaves behind five children.
michael jarmer 