A poacher was recently trampled to death by an elephant after he failed to gun down the elephant during an illegal hunting expedition in Zimbabwe.

Solomon Manjoro and his friend snuck into the huge protected Charara Safari in April to poach elephants for their ivory.

The pair, who were allegedly carrying unlicensed weapons, approached the elephant and attempted to shoot it. The gunshots missed the animal and Manjoro was killed when the animal charged towards him, and proceeded to trample on him. The bloodied remains of Solomon Manjoro were found by rangers later on.

His accomplice, Noluck Tafuruka, was later arrested by local police inside the Charara reserve, which lies near Zimbabwe's Lake Kariba in the north west of the country.

A third man, Godfrey Shonge, 52, from Capital Harare, has also been arrested over the incident. The two illegal poachers appeared last week in court to face charges of illegal possession of firearms and of contravention of local wildlife laws.

Johnny Rodrigues, chairperson of the Zimbabwean Conservation Task Force (ZCTF), said elephants in Zimbabwe have been so traumatized by poachers that they charge at anyone these days. Incidents of elephant poaching have been on the rise in recent years, driven by increased demand for ivory.

The valuable substance is sold on the black market and often smuggled to Asian countries including China, where it is used for ornaments and jewelry.

Forest elephant numbers had decreased by 62% across Central Africa over the last 10 years.

WWF's campaign against poaching in Central Africa said penalties should be increased and better links built with consumer countries such as China and Thailand.

It is not known how many elephants have died in the recent spate of killings, which are believed to be part of a wider surge in poaching fuelled by growing Asian demand the ivory.

"Elephant poaching is on the increase and given the fact that Central African Republic for the moment is also in dire straits we are fearing for the worst in terms of people trying to look seriously for ivory," said Bas Huijbregts, head of policy for WWF's campaign against poaching in Central Africa.

"Given the total absence of any type of law enforcement and rule of law in the area, there is elephant meat all over the place," he told the Associated Press.