The wife and child of a British scientist have been left critically injured after a giraffe attack at a wildlife reserve in South Africa.
Katy Williams, a 35-year-old American, and her three-year-old son Finn are in a critical but stable condition in a Johannesburg hospital. An operation was performed on Finn during the early hours of Tuesday to release pressure on his brain caused by injuries sustained in the incident.
The family were attacked at about 6pm on Monday by a female giraffe 150 metres from their home in Blyde Wildlife Estate, in the country’s north-east.
Sam Williams, 36, was returning from a trail run on the estate when he found his wife and son being trampled by the giraffe. He was able to intervene and chase the giraffe away.
Marina Botha, a lawyer representing the family, said: “Sam confirms that he understands nature and with the information available at the moment he regards the incident as an unfortunate act of nature. He understands the giraffe saw his wife as a threat to her young one.”
A spokesman for first responders to the scene, ER24, said that both the mother and boy suffered “numerous serious injuries” in the attack.
Finn was airlifted to Busamed Modderfontein Hospital in Johannesburg, with Katy following in a second helicopter. The youngster has had surgery to release pressure on his brain, and his mother has also had an operation, paramedics said.
Riaan Cilliers, manager of Blyde Wildlife Estate, said: ‘We are all in shock about this very sad incident and we ensure the family that they are in our prayers.’
