Georgia hunter threatened for posing with dead elephant

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A Georgia hunter under fire for posting pictures of himself alongside a pair of dead elephants said criticism he’s received is unfair — he shot the giants in “self-defense.”

A photo of Mike Jines posing with a rifle, behind two dead elephants, made the rounds on social media, with users branding him a despicable “Trophy Hunter” and saying he’d ruthlessly killed helpless juvenile pachyderms.

Since the photo was shared, Jines, a partner at an energy manufacturer in his home state, told CBS 46 that he’s received a slew of profanity-laced threats.

But Jines claims the image mischaracterizes what happened during the October 2018 hunt in Zimbabwe — saying that the two elephants were fully grown, and charged at him and his pal, Buzz.

“The two [elephants] that are shown in the photos were shot in self-defense, in an unprovoked charge and both elephants were fully mature cows, not juveniles,” he told the outlet.

The animals were killed in a designated safari area in compliance with laws of both Zimbabwe and the US, he said.

“While I can appreciate that hunting can be polarizing and that views on hunting can vary materially, I am sure that you can appreciate what it is like to deal with the vitriol particularly when the underlying information in this case is inaccurate,” Jines said.

He and his company are now dealing with the fallout and trying to make sure people understand the “actual facts” instead of the “mischaracterization” on social media.

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