Famous Long-Tusked Elephant Dies Near Mount Kenya
Tim and Timm
On February 5, 2020, Wednesday, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) stated that one of the largest ‘tusked’ elephants in Africa,Timdied in Kenya at the age of 50.
KWS stated in a statement, ‘Old Tim’ died in the Aberdare National Park’s Mwadogo area, on Tuesday morning.
KWS said it was ‘a kind, slow-moving protector of the Aberdare and was beloved by Kenyans and widely admired.’
Photography: Selengei Poole Granli
'Our hearts are broken,' the Nairobi Wildlife Trust, Wildlife Direct, issued a statement: ‘Tim was one of the few super long-tusked elephants in Africa, this incredible elephant existence inspires awe and admiration in many.’
According to Kenya News TV reports, Tim’s remains will be transported to Nairobi, Kenya, where an animal taxidermist will preserve it for display in the National Museum.
The Aberleare Elephant Trust claimed ‘the giant’ was found beneath Mount Kenya’s snow peak. Currently, its death cause is not confirmed.
Ryan Wilkie/Save the Elephants
Ryan Wilkie issued a birthday greeting to Tim on Tim’s 50th birthday.
Ryan Wilkie/Save the Elephants
‘Birthdays are meaningless for elephants, but they are significant for those of us committed to saving the species. Each year of life is a successful year, and this year is a huge milestone for an elephant,’
Tim is one of the largest and most famous elephants in Aberleare, and it is 50 years old.
It is remarkable that Tim lived this long, as it faced almost every threat to its species every day. Sadly, from the start, it lost three relatives due to alleged poaching, followed by its mother, Trista, who was killed by poachers when she was only 8 years old. Over time, it continued to lose family members, including its sister Tallulah, who was shot in 2003.
Since then, Tim represented all of humanity’s different values for elephants – positive and negative.
For poachers, it was a target; for farmers, it was an expensive nuisance; for tourists, it was a miracle.Of course, on the road to 50, it also had some setbacks. In the past five years, it was twice shot by angry farmers while raiding farms at night.Big Life Foundation rescued Tim
Recently, in November last year, ‘Big Life’ collaborated with KWS and the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to rescue Tim, who was trapped in a mud pit in a farm deep in the farms.
Tim is sinking in a mud pit
struggling useless
situation critical
Without a doubt, Tim will continue to keep us busy, but we’re glad to hear it has re-entered must, a hormonal state that requires a healthy body condition, usually associated with mating. Given that it hadn’t entered must in the past two years, it is a good sign that it has recovered from all the recent difficulties.This also means it will spend time looking for females, rather than letting Big Life rangers busy in farms, if lucky, it will pass on these incredible genes to future long-tusked offspring!
Thank you to all partners who worked to protect Tim, especially the Aberleare Elephant Trust, who have been recording its life since Tim was two years old.
Thank you also to all our supporters, it is because of them that our work is possible.
Teeku Patel
musthmusth
“”Big Life!
Teeku Patel
