SATAO II, one of Africa's last giant tusker elephants, is now dead, killed by a poacher's poison arrow. Another of the last tuskers left in Africa has been also poached, leaving only 6 of these giants in the Tsavo Conservation Area in southern Kenya. This is a devastating blow to elephant conservation and to super tusker genes.
Elephant populations in the area crashed due to poaching, falling all the way from a high of 45,000 in the early 1970s to fewer than 6,000 in 1989. Since then, the population has recovered to 11,000 elephants (according to the last aerial census in 2014) due to the formation of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the international ban on ivory trade — although there has been an increase in poaching since then. For further information, see the magazine issue The Silent Giants of Tsavo.
The Tsavo Trust operates the Big Tusker Project in conjunction with KWS and focusses on aerial and ground surveillance and data capture, backed up by the KWS's rapid reaction teams that deal with poaching incidents.
SATAO II's death, and the recent spike in poaching, represent a significant threat to the world's last-remaining tuskers and to Tsavo's precious elephant population. PLEASE consider supporting the Tsavo Trust in their brave battle to keep these elephants safe from the ruthless poaching syndicates.
Tsavo Trust CEO Richard Moller would like to see one or two of the iconic Tsavo super tuskers enjoy a Presidential Security Decree, as was the case with the famous tusker called Ahmed of Marsabit National Park in Kenya in the early 1970s. If successfully repeated, this will be a momentous achievement in conservation leadership by an African president.
Please sign to show your support in our demand that these Majestic Tuskers be watched over 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Thank you.
