A blaze that led to the death of an elephant in the Kruger National Park was not a controlled fire, SA National Parks said on Monday.
It was responding to rumours about the fire last week on social networking sites.
“This was as a result of a runaway fire that jumped over the border from Mozambique into the KNP,” said Freek Venter, KNP general manager of conservation.
“A south-easterly wind created adverse conditions which resulted in a fast-moving fire on the day,” he said in a statement.
Venter said the smoke from “this type of fire sometimes overcomes animals and confuses them”. The elephant sustained serious burns and was put down.
“With regards to controlled fires, SANParks has a strict fire danger index guideline, which indicates when it is safe to administer controlled burns and KNP is no exception,” he said.
There were claims on Facebook and other social platforms that a rhino was also injured in the fire. This could not be confirmed.
Venter said an investigation was underway. – SAPA