A giraffe killed a 16-month-old toddler at a conservancy in South Africa in a rare attack by the animal, local media report.

The toddler and her 25-year-old mother were at Kuleni Game Park in northern KwaZulu-Natal when they were both trampled by the giraffe.

The mother and little were living in the conservancy which features 14 individual lodges.

Police have told the BBC that details of the tragedy were scant, but they had opened an inquest.

“The child was taken to the nearest doctor’s room where she died,” the Lieutenant Nqobile Madlala told BBC News

Giraffes are not known to attack people and are a common feature in game lodges in South Africa.

Kuleni Game Park is 16km (10 miles) outside Hluhluwe in KwaZulu-Natal, a province that is popular with local and international tourists.