An elephantine dilemma: Amboseli’s super-tuskers protected in Kenya, hunted in Tanzania

By PAULINE KAIRU

In September 2023, the tranquil of Tanzania’s Enduimet Wildlife Management Area (Ewma) was shattered by a tragic event — a magnificent, large-tusked elephant bull categorised as a ‘super-tusker’ fell to the bullet of a trophy hunter.

This community-owned conservation area, nestled in northern Tanzania just 23.5 kilometres from the Kenya-Tanzania border, became the backdrop of a poignant clash between conservation and tradition.

The bull’s tusks, each weighing almost 50kg, bore witness to its stature and the tragic end it met.

Identified posthumously by Cynthia Moss and Norah Njiraini of the Amboseli Trust for Elephants (ATE), the bull was named Gilgil, a notable individual from the Amboseli Elephant Research Project (AERP) in Kenya.

This revelation underscored not only the physical loss but also the broader implications for elephant conservation efforts spanning Kenya and Tanzania borders.

“An elephant’s skin is essentially a giant fingerprint with unique folds, creases, vein patterns, lumps, and bumps that distinguish one elephant from another,” explained the scientists.

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The bull, estimated to have been 35 years old, was just entering his reproductive years and belonged to a unique population of elephants that traverse Kenya’s Amboseli National Park into northern Tanzania.

Gilgil represented a link in a fragile ecological chain that supersedes political boundaries.

In a press statement, a consortium of wildlife conservation organisations condemned the hunt by an American insurance executive brought in by Tanzanian company.

Gilgil’s right tusk measured 6 feet 3 inches and weighed 45kg, while the left one was 7 feet 2 inches and weighed 49.9 kg.

In November 2023, another super-tusker met a similar fate on land owned by the Tanzania National Ranching Company Limited (NARCO), adjacent to the Enduimet WMA, 36 kilometres from the Kenya-Tanzania border.

This elephant was unidentified, as its carcass was burned and partially buried.

It was estimated that its ivory weighed 46kg and 44kg. The hunt, according to the same consortium, was conducted by an American professional hunter resident in Tanzania.

Reports surfaced of a third incident in late February 2024, underscoring the escalating threat to Amboseli’s elephants.

The consortium of wildlife conservation organisations has said that investigations pointed to the same Tanzanian company.

The American posted images of various wildlife he hunted, but it is unclear if he was the one who killed the elephant, as there were other hunters, including one who previously made headlines for hunting an endangered black rhino in Namibia in 2015.

In total, these incidents, clustered in Tanzania’s West-Kilimanjaro area, mark a grim tally of five adult male super-tuskers reportedly lost to trophy hunters in late 2023 and early 2024.

Read: Elephant deaths trigger Kenyan call for Tanzania to curb hunts

The scientific community decried the loss in a June 27, letter published in Science.

The 24 elephant biologists and conservationists highlighted the Amboseli–West Kilimanjaro cross-border elephants as a unique genetic reservoir and called for Tanzanian and Kenyan authorities to unite in a conservation strategy.

The population studied for 51 years by the Amboseli Elephant Research Project (AERP) in Kenya, perhaps the longest-running continuous elephant study in the world, has been described as “one of the last gene pools for large tuskers and the source of the largest tusks ever collected.”

“Tanzania and Kenya should recognise the immense scientific value of this cross-border population and work together to develop a harmonised conservation strategy that formalises a zero-elephant hunting quota and the promotion of ecotourism,” reads the letter.

Kenya banned trophy hunting in 1973, but it remains legal in Tanzania, where hunting companies obtain licences on behalf of a client. A permit to shoot an elephant costs between $10,000 and $20,000.

Hunters are only allowed to kill stray elephants and lions, and the aged and unproductive animals.

Although these elephant hunts were reportedly legal, they have sparked significant concerns among outraged conservationists.
The Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority (Tawa) regulates hunting permits, with a national quota of 50 elephants per year.

But the conservationists allege some unethical practices, such as pushing elephants into hunting blocks and using helicopters to locate them, contravening fair chase principles.

Burning or burying carcasses, though not illegal, is highly unusual and raises further questions.

The economic gains from hunting, exemplified by a windfall from a January auction, pale against the long-term benefits of ecotourism and sustainable conservation, they say.

Tawa was expected to announce the next season’s quota or “take” in July.

Tanzania’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism has said it collected $8.2 million during the seven-day hunting blocks allocation auction held in January.

Conservation activists contend that, economically, each elephant’s lifetime value from tourism far exceeds the one-time income from trophy hunting, and that in an ecosystem renowned for well-protected elephant populations, the loss to hunting is economically short-sighted and morally troubling.

According to Dr Katarzyna Nowak and Dr Keith Lindsay, 70 percent of Africa’s elephants are in transboundary populations and hunting should not be carried out without first considering whether it harms the resources of a neighbouring country, particularly when wildlife policies differ, as in the case of Kenya and Tanzania.

This view is shared by elephant conservation organisations and by international agreements, such as the Convention on Migratory Species.

An implicit agreement among hunters to avoid shooting elephants near Amboseli National Park and in the surrounding borderlands has safeguarded this cross-border elephant population.

Except for breaches by hunters in 1994-95, which led to the deaths of four well-known males and ignited international outrage, this agreement has been honoured for half a century.

Now, with these recent hunts, a dilemma surrounds the management of elephant populations that roam Kenya and Tanzania.

While Kenya has invested substantial resources in protecting elephants, especially the large-tusked bulls targeted by ivory poachers, through anti-poaching patrols, community engagement programmes, and international advocacy for stronger wildlife protection laws, these efforts are undermined once the elephants cross into Tanzania, where they can be legally killed by trophy hunters.

Kenya’s Kajiado County Governor, Joseph ole Lenku, has publicly advocated revision of the hunting regulations in the neighbouring country.

“We call our counterparts on the Tanzanian side to carefully consider the long-term implications of such actions and to join us in preserving our shared natural heritage for future generations,” Mr Lenku said.

The plight of super-tusker elephants epitomises a broader struggle for conservation across borders.

Kenyan conservationists are also urging Tanzania to formalise regulations banning elephant hunting near the border, effectively creating a buffer zone that would protect the Amboseli-West Kilimanjaro elephant population, a shared heritage between Kenya and Tanzania.

Elephants already face poaching, habitat loss, and human-wildlife conflict. Subjecting them to trophy hunting exacerbates their plight, they say.

Read: Scientists call for halt to elephant hunting along Kenya-Tanzania border

Once nearly decimated by poachers in the 1990s, fewer than 100 of these majestic animals remain today.

The ban on hunting in Kenya facilitated their resurgence, making Amboseli’s elephants emblematic of successful conservation practices globally.

Dr Cynthia Moss, founder of the AERP at the Amboseli Trust, underscored their significance: “These elephants are not only sources of great scientific knowledge and key attractions for the ecotourism economy, but they also represent a unique and irreplaceable natural wildlife heritage for the people of both countries and the world.”

The Amboseli–West Kilimanjaro elephant population, totalling about 2,000 elephants across 30,000km² of Kenya and Tanzania, holds profound ecological and economic value.

These elephants, genetically predisposed to possess some of the continent’s largest tusks, embody centuries of evolutionary adaptation.

Their roles in genetic diversity, social cohesion and the local economy underscore their irreplaceable contributions.

Older bulls, distinguished by their larger tusks, assume critical roles in reproduction and social hierarchy, guiding younger males and ensuring herd stability.

But the resumption of trophy hunting jeopardises their future.

Dr Joyce Poole, scientific director of ElephantVoices, lamented that the recent killings of the super-tuskers, “are particularly concerning due to the rarity and the special role these older males play in elephant society.”

Elephants like Gilgil in their prime breeding years are crucial.

“There are so many myths and misinformation about these larger male elephants,” explained Dr Moss.

“Our studies show that the bigger, older males do all the breeding well into their 50s.”

Because it takes about 35 years for a male elephant to attain the size and experience to breed annually, the majority of calves are fathered by the same, few older males sought by trophy hunters.

These older animals also form the core structure of male society, initiating and coordinating the movements and activities of closely bonded individuals.

According to the AERP, this elephant population consists of 65 families, with 17 families totalling 365 members frequently crossing into Tanzania.

There are 725 males aged 10 years and above, all of whom enter Tanzania at some point, since it is part of their range.

Among these, 123 have been recorded in the reproductively active period of musth.

At least 25 of these males have tusks large enough to be considered suitable targets for trophy hunters, though only a few have tusks over 45 kilos.

Male elephants become prime targets of trophy hunters during their reproductive prime between the ages of 35 and 55 years.

“Hunters frequently argue that they only kill old males, which are past breeding, but genetic paternity data and decades of observational records have shown that it is the oldest classes that are the most competitive and preferred by females.

For instance, 52-year-old Craig, one of Amboseli’s celebrity elephants, began his reproductively active musth period last week,” Dr Poole said.

Each elephant in the population is individually identified, documented photographically, and recorded in a comprehensive database.

This rich repository of data includes detailed records of births, deaths, and sightings of over 4,000 individuals, providing unparalleled insights into elephant demography, growth, social structure, behaviour, communication, and genetics.

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