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Hi.

7 December 2003 I took these pictures at olifant drinkgat in Kruger.
Were I the first to spot this tusker??
Can anyone ID him?

Could be Shamariri

But I cannot tell for sure

*EDIT* Shamariri's area might be a bit too north as well...... But also remember that these guys travel MILES, and do wonder around. Duke (Who lives between P/kop and Croc) has been seen as high as Olifants..... Not often, but it has happened.

This guy was near Talamati...

Half-way up the S28,at first he and another bull where standing to one side and a heard of some 20 to the other side,then slowly they all came and milled around him it was great to see how gentle he was with the small one's and trust us he is very frisky.

What a fantastic pic Nannie,
Unusual to see Duke in a herd of other ellies as he is normally alone or with one askari.

I have read about a project where public sightings will be used to document/record the new KNP tuskers. I cannot find a specific thread/forum or gallery dealing with just that issue. Has this been initiated? If so, how can one contribute information and/or use such a database to learn more of an elephant.

I was in KNP over the recent long weekend (22 - 26 Sep) and found an ellie with only one huge tusk on the left side. This was on a stream bank near (north of) Nwanetsi. I got some good shots of him together with a single askari. In spite of the fact that he has only the one tusk intact, he is an impressive bull. He ate constantly and moved briskly. I would love to know more about him.

Hi Johan,

This is Mr-One-Tusk-Bull-Elephant-Without-A-Name. I also got some good pictures of him on the S100 close to Nsasane waterhole during January this year when he blocked the road. I’ve emailed the photos to Dr Ian Whyte to hear if he is familiar with this elephant. His reply was that it is a well known elephant but he does not have a name most probably due to the fact that he only has one tusk. Dr Whyte said that if he had both tusks this elephant would’ve surely been one of the most well known big tuskers in Kruger.

You can compare the ellie you saw against the photos of the one we saw by going to Day 7 our trip report

OH yes and as to the link for the Emerging Tusker Project click here

"Motbewan" (short for Mr-...) will do nicely. The name might even stick. Seems a pity that having lost a tusk such a magnificent animal looses stature - the genes that course through this colossus wasn't altered by the misadventure that led to this unfortunate state of affairs.

Was he known before the loss? Is it known when and how he lost the ivory on the right side?

Great to see other fellows frequenting the KNP with birds as prime target. The "Motbewan"s of the world becomes one heck of a bonus! You had a much better sighting of "Motbewan" than I did. I am by now means qualified to ID ellies, but it does look a lot like this is the same gentleman!

Thanks for the references to the Elephant Hall. What I would really like to see is an effective database where all the info submitted by the public is systematically captured and browseable. Such a facility must exist! How to get access to that info - that would be a BOON!

I have seen Motbewan too. I like the name!

I agree, its absolute bull that the ele does not have a name due to only having one tusk. Tshokwane broke off both tusks and still was known as Tshokwane. I really think that this beautifull animal deserves a name with a tusk like that, btw in the hunting days the biggest tusk was recorded for Rowland Ward purposes anyways.

Very cleaver name Johan. I think we should stick with it. Maybe it can be a side order for Mission Duke, but then again it hangs around the S100

A few years ago this elephant was standing next to the road near Shingwedzi. I have been told it's the elephant called Mashagadzi.

Hi Skangeni,

Thats a very interesting point. I was one of the lucky ones who saw this elephant in his home on the far western boundary where the Shingwedzi comes into Kruger. i only noticed the hole after he was found dead at a waterhole when I bought the Paul Bosman print of him. He lived to a ripe old age and seemed to manage okay with his breathing. He died not long after he had a collar fitted which was policy then to collar the Magnificent 7 to track them as they were really targeted by ivory poachers in the heyday of poaching. I think Dzombo succumbed to AK 47's and Shawu (Groot HaakTand) as well. I cant recall Joao or Kambaku having a collar (I must have a look at these old slides of mine again). Many believe that Mafunyane died through the strain of the trauma of having this collar fitted. He fell awkwardly after darting and with his extra long tusks he was unable to get up and they had to use a front end loader to help him. Many believed he had the heaviest tusks as they went right to the ground without really tapering but they only came out at about 140lbs a side as he was shorter than they realised so his tusks looked more impressive. Another theory that he died prematurely is my theory based on the fact that in the last 10 years of an elephant bulls life he literally almost doubles the weight of ivory he carries without any noticable increase in outward size and length. This is partially caused by the shrinkage of the tusk nerve in the last years of the bulls life and the shrinkage of the nerve cavity which in turn is filled by thick heavy ivory. A very old bull has massive tusk bases of almost solid ivory and Mafunyane had large nerve cavities with rather thin ivory at the bases. I bet if he was not required to wear a collar and lived for another 8-10 years he would have topped 180 pounds to put him well within the top 10 elephants ever recorded. The world record is 226 lbs taken from an elephant on the slopes of Kilimanjaro in the 1890's. It will be interesting to see how this Duke fellow pans out if he lives for another 10 years. I reckon he carries about 130 plus lbs per side at the moment but could go another 35lbs without any increase in length. I'm facinated by these big tuskers.

Article in Lowvelder with photo of Masbambela who died. This is very sad as few people got the change to see this big tusker.
Please share your pics with the world.

Please move the topic if you wish mods.

Hi Leaveldleeu, that's sad news. I don,t know him I think. Do you know in what area of KNP he was living? We have some pics of big Tuskers that we don't know the names of.

Very sad news LaeveldLeeu..

Here is some info on Masbambela, as you can see he is not classified as deceased on the list & he roamed in the Shingwedzi/ Punda Maria area.