Nairobi - An elephant trampled on and killed a British honeymooner during a guided nature walk with his wife in Kenya's famed Maasai Mara National Reserve, officials said on Monday.

Newlywed Patrick Smith, 34, was killed on Sunday near the exclusive safari camp where he and his wife were staying in the wildlife-rich park, about 220km south-west of Nairobi, they said.

The pair were walking with an experienced Maasai guide when a group of elephants they spotted downwind were spooked, according to the Kenya Tourist Board (KTB) and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).

The elephants "showed no signs of aggressive behaviour but were apparently startled by something, causing them suddenly to rush towards the walking party who were caught up their path", said KTB chairperson Jake Grieves-Cook.

"The wife and the guide were unharmed but the husband was attacked by one of the elephants and was killed," he said in a statement.

"This was truly a tragic accident and on behalf of the tourism fraternity in Kenya we wish to express our deepest sympathy and sincere condolences to the wife and family of the visitor who died in this unprovoked attack," he said.

KWS spokesperson Connie Maina called the incident a tragedy and noted Smith and his wife had been married for only a week.

"They were on their honeymoon," she told reporters. "The man's wife saw everything, she was shaken but not injured."

Maina said the incident occurred in the reserve's Ochooirua Conservancy about 300m outside Richard's Camp, a luxury safari destination in the north-west part of the Maasai Mara, where the couple were staying. - Sapa-AFP

Guided Nature Walk?.........Where the Big 5 and more are roaming about?
Hallo?..........We are not talking Zoo's here!

not unpurposely is foot safari forbidden in parks but not so in the conservancy. as wild animal\'s reactions are never ever predictable these kind of "adrenalin" driven walks should be abandoned alltogether!
okay shit happens all over the world but some kind of "adventure" just ask for trouble.
the same belongs to the mokoro rides in the okavango delta or down the zambesi river.

It was indeed a tragic accident. I was glad to read that the wife asked that no elephant be killed because of it.

I too would like to see Kenya put a stop to bushwalks, even in conservancies/reserves. I think they are being requested more and more because people know the southern African countries do it. It is unfair to wildlife that they might in the end be shot because an unthinking tourist wanted to walk in the bush. And this has happend on many occasions, and the animal shot was not necessarily the one that caused injury/death.

Personally I would never take a chance on a walk because I couldn't live with myself if an animal had to be killed because of our being in their territory.

I have also had six episodes with being surprised by cobras, green mambas and black mambas and because of this you couldn't get me to walk in the bush anywhere!!!