A 26-year-old veterinarian from Sydney was gored to death by a wild elephant while taking photo of the animal in a wildlife reserve in Borneo island, Malaysia on Wednesday.

Jenna O'Grady Donley died instantly at the Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Sabah, said the state wildlife department director Laurentius Ambu, according to The Age.

Ms Donley, a woman companion and a guide spotted a bull pygmy elephant, which is smaller than those found in other parts of Asia, had just trekked from a mud volcano when they spotted the animal and started taking photos from 10 metres away. The animal may have been startled and agitated by the tourist's camera shutter and flash and charged at them. Mr Ambu said single elephant bulls are sometimes aggressive.

Ms Donley's companion and the guide escaped harm but she was unlucky the elephant got her by its tusk.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the victim's mother, Liz Donley, have confirmed the death of Ms Donley.
"Bull elephants are fast, they can move with unpredictability, and they're aggressive and they're protective," the victim's mother told ABC Radio on Thursday. "This is an accident that's happened, a very tragic accident."

Ms. Donley described her daughter as gifted in her profession and devoted to animal health. She said the victim completed a thesis on renal failure in big cats and hopes that her work would leave a lasting legacy.

One of the victim's university internship supervisors, Edla Arzey, described Donley as talented and full of life.

A herd of elephant at the Tabin Wildlife Reserve.