The recent ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ of the elephant with the giant pair of tusks in the world has sent shockwaves through the conservation community. Known as Lugard, the magnificent creature was a beloved icon of Kenya’s Tsavo East National Park and was estimated to be around 53 years old at the time of his ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ. The death of this remarkable animal represents a tremendous loss to the global population of African elephants and a ɢʀᴀᴠᴇ ᴛʜʀᴇᴀᴛ to the ecosystems in which they live.
Lugard is among the few remaining super tusk elephants in the Tsavo nature reserve (Kenya). Super tusk elephants are elephants with genetic ᴍᴜᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴs that make them possess long pairs of tusks that touch the ground, weighing up to 50kg each.
On November 23, Lugard’s ʙᴏᴅʏ was discovered by pilot Joseph Kimaile and a ranger while performing a routine reconnaissance flight over Tsavo National Park. Lugard’s super elephant ᴄᴀʀᴄᴀss seen from above:
The Kenya Wildlife Service and Tsavo National Park rangers were at where Lugard’s ʙᴏᴅʏ was found to verify the information.
The cause of Lugard’s ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ has been determined as natural causes; however, animal experts say severe drought conditions in Tsavo over the past months have contributed to hastening the elephant’s natural ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ.
Lugard was determined to be 53 years old at the time of his ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ. In the wild, African elephants can live up to 60 years old for males or 45 years old for females, but sometimes elephants live up to 70 years old.
Lugard’s two giant tusks were still intact when this elephant ᴅɪᴇᴅ and have been kept by the authorities for conservation.
“It is with great sadness that I have to say goodbye to one of Tsava’s familiar icons, the super tusk elephant named Lugard, who has ᴘᴀssᴇᴅ away of old age,” said a representative of Tsavo National Park.
Lugard is one of the most famous elephants in the Tsavo nature reserve, thanks to its colossal pair of tusks. Experts say that while still alive, Lugard may have been the giant male elephant in the world.
Before his ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ, Lugard had mated with many female elephants in reserve and left quite a few baby elephants. Experts hope Lugard will pass on his mutant gene to have more super tusk elephants.
Lugard’s ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ comes just three weeks after rangers discovered the ʙᴏᴅʏ of Dida, a female super tusk elephant also living in Tsavo National Park. Dida was determined to have ᴅɪᴇᴅ of natural causes and lived to be 65 years old. Thus, two scarce super-tusked elephants have ᴅɪᴇᴅ in ʟᴇss than a month.
Seven adult super-tusks and 27 new super-tusks are estimated to be left in the Tsavo nature reserve.
The Tsavo Wildlife Trust and the Kenya Animal Care Force have worked together to keep the super-tusked elephants in the Tsavo nature reserve safe from ᴘᴏᴀᴄʜᴇʀs. The giant tusks of these mutant elephants are targeted by ᴘᴏᴀᴄʜᴇʀs and greatly value the black market.
The ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ of Lugard is a stark reminder of the urgent need to address the ᴘᴏᴀᴄʜɪɴɢ ᴄʀɪsɪs ᴛʜʀᴇᴀᴛᴇɴɪɴɢ Africa’s elephants. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), African elephant populations have declined by around 30% over the past decade due to ᴘᴏᴀᴄʜɪɴɢ , habitat ʟᴏss, and other human activities. This decline is particularly alarming given that African elephants are a keystone species, playing a crucial role in maintaining the balance of ecosystems across the continent. We must act now to prevent the ʟᴏss of more tuskers like Lugard and to ensure that elephants continue to play their vital role in the ecological balance of Africa’s savannahs and forests.
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