(NaturalNews) The urge to kill pounded in his pulse as he steadied the rifle and peered through the scope. This is what he had paid $60,000 for: the chance to take out one of Africa's most majestic creatures.

The elephant he had been seeking out was standing right there in full view, magnified right before his very own eyes. This was his moment. He could almost feel the trophy in his hands as the animal's tusks shifted and glistened in the sun.

With his finger on the trigger, he steadied his eyes on his prize. The beautiful 60-year-old creature looked on, shifting its weight and taking its final breaths. The elephant's kind, almost human-like eyes were calm in that moment, not knowing what was coming.

The blast echoed across the safari as the 120-pound tusks fell to nature's floor. The eyes of the gorgeous animal were frozen in innocence, the life suddenly taken out of them.

Satisfied, the hunter jogged toward the scene he had created. All he saw was a win, an accomplishment, a dream come true. Did he not understand in this moment that he had killed and severed a wonderful, gracious part of himself? As the rush of killer's satisfaction filled his senses, all his mercy was dissipating. Did the man not see that the culling of this mighty elephant was a reflection of his greatest weaknesses?

Trophy hunting a sign of spiritual sickness?

It was the biggest elephant killed in Africa in the last 30 years. Conservationists estimate the creature was 60 years old. Safari guides are mourning the loss of this "magnificent" animal as the unnamed hunter prepares to cart off the animal's tusks for bragging rights.

This picture says it all, showing two proud, spiritually sick hunters grandstanding their $60,000 kill.

This picture was taken on October 8, 2015, near the border of Zimbabwe's southern Gonarezhou National Park. An unnamed German elitist paid $60,000 for a permit to take out a large bull elephant. An experienced local hunter joined him on the hunt. This hunt was part of a 21-day exhibition to take out a variety of marvelous creatures, including leopards, lions, rhinoceros, buffalo, and various species of elephants.

He was triumphant in his elephant kill and received praise from fellow trophy hunters for taking out one of the largest African elephants seen in the past 30 years. However, conservationists are outraged. As soon as the photos of the dead elephant went online, conservationists thought the magnificent animal could have been a local favorite named Nkombo, who lost a tracking collar in 2014. Conservationists speculate that Nkombo could have traveled up from Kruger National Park into Gonarezhou because there are no borders there.

The guide who set up the hunt said, "This was a legal hunt and the client did nothing wrong. We hunters have thick skins and we know what the greenies will say. This elephant was probably 60 years old and had spread its seed many many times over."

The unnamed German hunter seems to have the same spiritual sickness as American dentist Dr. Walter J. Palmer. Dr. Palmer came under fire in the summer of 2015 for killing Cecil the Lion on an African safari and turning the magnificent creature into his own personal trophy.

When will mankind finally see trophy hunting for what it truly is?

When will macho, elitist hunters realize what they are doing to themselves when they go out on expensive trophy hunts to kill and destroy? Trophy hunting is the act of taking the life of nature's most magnificent creatures in vain, all for personal pride and glory.

Anthony Kaschula, an operator of a photographic safari firm in Gonarezhou, said, "We checked everywhere and this elephant has never been seen before, not in Zimbabwe nor Kruger. We would have known it because its tusks are huge. There have been five or six giant tuskers shot in the last year or so, and we knew all of them, but none as big as this one."

"We have suggested before to all concerned parties that each elephant area should collar a few with biggest tusks, so that we do not shoot them," he suggested. "Nobody responded to our suggestion last year. We believe this might now be taken seriously."

"We have no control over poaching but we do have control over hunting policy that should acknowledge that animals such as this one are of far more value alive (to both hunters and non-hunters) than dead."

Kaschula reiterated, "Individual elephants such as these should be accorded their true value as a National Heritage and should be off limits to hunting."

Sources for this article include:
Telegraph.co.uk
NaturalNews.com
TheGuardian.com