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Conservationist pilot dies after he's shot down by elephant poachers

CBC News | Posted: February 1, 2016 10:01 PM | Last Updated: February 1, 2016

Image | roger gower

Caption: "He loved flying... and he had always loved animals," Max Grower said of his brother, Roger Grower. (Max Gower's JustGiving page)

British pilot Roger Gower, 37, was shot and killed by elephant poachers on Friday, while flying near Serengeti National Park. He was on an anti-poaching mission, along with friend and conservationist Nicky Bester, when the poachers opened fire, hitting Gower in the arm and head.

Image | roger gower

Caption: Tanzanian officials examine the helicopter Roger Gower was flying when he was shot by poachers. (Associated Press)

Despite being shot, Gower managed to land the helicopter safely. Bester, his passenger, was then able to drag Gower to a bush, to hide from the poachers. It was there Gower succumbed to his injuries. As Gower's brother Max tells As It Happens host Carol Off, "I'm proud he did what he could under very difficult circumstances, and Nicky Bester is still around to tell the story."

Image | Elephants in Tanzania

Caption: Elephants run free in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park, where they are under constant threat from poachers seeking ivory. A new study says that 100,000 elephants were killed over three years, 2010-2012, in Africa. (John Northcott/CBC)

Though several arrests have been made, Max Gower says "It seems the problem in Tanzania is not going to be solved by finding the eight people responsible for my brother's death, because there will be another eight people willing to take their place very quickly." Now, he is raising money(external link) to assist anti-poaching efforts in Tanzania, because he believes "some good should come out of Roger's tragic death."

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