Elephants

[Spalea]

Sad news: death of a great tusker in the Kruger National Park... RIP.

" As informed by Mooiplaas Section Ranger Joe Nkuna and confirmed by Interpretive Officer Kirsty Redman of South African National Parks one of the largest Elephant Tuskers in Kruger National Park has died.
Kirsty Redman wrote: “Just to update you the process of confirming the info on N’watindlopfu has been completed I have requested an update to the website which will hopefully be done soon. Sadly through the tusk markings we have been able to confirm the carcass was him.”

Below is the tusk info for your information.
TUSK DATA: Left:      Right:
Length:         253cm    268cm
Mass:           64.8kg    62.75kg
Circumference at Lip (cm) 54.5cm     54cm

His carcass was found end of May 2023 close to Grootvlei Dam in the North of Kruger National park, South Africa
No foal play suspected
His tusks were still intact and he probably died of natural causes
This is stock footage of him filmed around December 2020 at Boyela waterhole north of Shingwedzi Rest camp.
A formal notification from SANParks will shortly include information about the elephants age and precise cause of death.
We'll keep you up to date.

Origin of Name: N’watindlopfu spruit in the Kruger National Park meaning ‘spruit of the elephants’ in Tsonga and refers to the historical site where in 1987 a striking and relatively well preserved panel of rock paintings depicting a group of four elephants on a small granite koppie alongside this spruit was found. The is reference to the proof of the early existence of elephants in the Kruger National Park and therefore links to the great discover that was this bulls sudden appearance as a large tusker.
Range: Far Northern KNP.
Special Features: Small u&v-shaped notches in the right ear throughout the lobe. A larger u & v-shaped nick is present in the upper part of the same lobe. The left lobe has more distinct markings and when fully open an inverted wide u-shape is visible in the middle of the lobe. In the lower level of the lobe small u&v-shaped notches are visible. N’watindlopfu has a very slightly thickened area of skin on the upper and middle regions of his trunk. There is a small elongated growth on the upper front thigh that is visible from his left side. His ivory is what would be referred to as the typical Kruger shape with one tusk long and straighter then a slightly shorter more curved tusk curving at different levels. In his case the right tusk is the straighter and shows indication of an old chip off the tip.
General:This large bull had an interesting start in the tuskers project, a sighting on the 31st July 2014 initially created great confusion as to an ID on such an impressive bull due to an unclear location and similarities to other known bulls. Through back-tracking it was established that he was seen north of Shingwedzi towards Babalala and it was confirmed as we had suspected that we had a new tusker. Further submissions by regular contributors in quick succession recently close to Babalala with clear images of the left ear markings and tusks confirmed this bull as a new tusker to the area. This bull seems to prefer being out of the limelight which is perhaps why it took so long to find him." Reply