Emerging Tuskers Project:This is a project that has captured the attention and interest of the public long before any formal proposal was submitted. The Kruger National Park is one of the few areas in Southern Africa where large tuskers can still be found. The tuskers of Kruger have been an attraction for visitors since the Magnificent 7 promotion was launched by Dr Tol Pienaar in 1980. Subsequent to the death of these magnificent elephants and the opening of the elephant hall which is now home to their ivory, the naming and identification of tuskers was carried out informally by then Large Mammal Scientist Dr Ian Whyte. At this time tuskers were named after locations where they were seen and general names of interest. Public interest in the project and submissions for identification continued to increase to a point where it was decided to formalize the project and have a team that could monitor these bulls and disseminate the information to the public.
The Emerging Tuskers Project was formally approved in May 2003 by the Conservation Management Committee as an ongoing project. The project was to be based at the Letaba Elephant Museum and administered by the museum staff. The supporting Emerging Tuskers competition was launched in 2006 and ran until 2009 when it was temporarily suspended. The project however continues.
The objectives of the project are: (where does the data go & why do we monitor them) 1. To identify and catalogue the current large and emerging tuskers of the Kruger National Park through photographic material submitted by staff and tourists and to maintain the resultant data base of these large bulls.
2. To gain an idea of these animals’ home ranges and distribution through sightings by staff and tourists.
3. To determine any trends that may emerging regarding home ranges and distribution from the monitoring process.
4. To make the information gained available to guests through the displays at the Elephant Museum at Letaba and on the SANParks website.
Points of importance: (from Dr Whytes project proposal)• There is considerable public interest in these large tuskers. Many of the older ones have now died (Tshokwane, Mandleve, Mlondozi, Shilowa), but there is a new generation emerging which requires classification and documentation. Many enquiries are made for information on these animals.
• The information gained adds considerable interest to the displays in the Letaba Elephant Museum.
• For very little effort, this project will serve the interests of SANParks and its visitors
Conditions of project approvalThe project is approved subject to acceptance of the following conditions by the researcher/s and all others associated with the project:
• That Dr I.J. Whyte acts as the South African National Parks (SANParks) contact person. All arrangement must be made through this person (this shifted to K.Redman upon Dr Whyte’s retirement)
• That the data and photographic material acquired in the KNP remain the intellectual property of SANParks, and be used only for the purposes outlined in this proposal, and to meet the stated objectives
• That any contact with the media be made only after discussion with the SANParks contact person
• That in any publication resulting from the project, the South African National Parks be specifically acknowledged
• That a copy of any or all publications, reports or theses emanating from the work be made available to the Stevenson-Hamilton Library at Skukuza and to the Elephant Museum at Letaba
• That during the duration of the project, (field data collection, analysis or write-up phases), the researcher/s will submit annual reports of progress. Reminders will be sent to the researchers at the time that such reports are due)
• That the South African National Parks reserves the right to terminate the project it is considered that sufficient evidence of progress is not provided, or if any of the above conditions are not complied with.
Naming:In line with the approved proposal by Dr Ian Whyte it was decided to raise the value of the naming process and to give it more purpose. In line with this the decision was made and approved that emerging and large tuskers will be named in recognition of deceased or retired colleagues who have devoted their careers through loyal service etc. to the advancement of the KNP/SANParks and conservation, this is not limited to conservation services, but can include people from research, technical services etc. The final decision on who will qualify to have a tusker named after them is decided by the project coordinator in consultation with the relevant colleagues who assist with the project as part of the committee.
It is considered an immense honor by the selected staff members who have the privilege of having a tusker named after them recognizing their contribution to conservation. This is not a decision entered into lightly and has a consultation process before this will be confirmed. Staff can nominate colleagues they feel worthy of this honor and these are taken into consideration when a tusker is in need of naming. The quality of the tusker to be named should therefore be reflective of this honor. Where possible regions of operation are matched to the known home range of these bulls as well.
The Emerging Tuskers are an elite group of elephant bulls and not every elephant will be considered for naming, it is not the quantity of bulls that are important to be named but the quality of the bulls that receive this honor that is important. To ensure the exclusivity and prominence of these bulls the decision to name is governed by distinct criteria. Many elephant bulls in the Kruger National Park are notable but few will qualify to be named an essential process to maintain the unique and exclusive nature of the project.
There are many considerations that must be taken into account before an emerging tusker can be named. Primarily the criteria are as follows:
• The tusks must extend between 1m – 1.5m from the lip line. (The apparent weight of the ivory is also factored into the process.)
• The elephant must have the potential to develop from an emerging tusker into a Great Tuskers of the KNP, for this the estimated age of the elephant is essential, younger bulls who have yet to hit their tusk growth spurts can be considered as a potential or emerging tusker. Older bulls usually determined but the sunken temples, exposed shoulder blades for example are unlikely to develop further and are therefore not eligible candidates. (This is not always easy and requires a skilled eye to see as elephants will often loose condition in winter and can improve in the wet seasons.)
• A full photo series of the bull must be available before naming to ensure that the proposed emerging tuskers is not a pre-existing tusker. This should include both ears, side view of the tusk, full frontal of the tusker and other potential ID points such as growths, trunk thickening, tusk grass notches where possible. This will ensure that there are no duplicate or apparent look a-like tuskers named.
What makes a tusker a Tusker:An Emerging Tusker is an elephant that has notable tusks that extend between 1m – 1.5m from the lip line. These bulls will also show that they have the potential to develop from an Emerging Tusker to one of the Great Tuskers of the KNP, for this the estimated age of the elephant is essential, younger bulls have yet to hit their tusk growth spurts so can be considered as a potential or emerging tusker. Older bulls usually determined but the sunken temples, exposure shoulder blades for example are unlikely to develop further and are therefore not eligible candidates. (This is not always easy to see as elephants will often loose condition in winter and can improve in the wet seasons.)
A Great Tusker is an elephant bull that has tusks extending in excess of 1.5m from the lip line, these tusks will usually appear to be at ground level or close to ground level (this can be variable based on the height and size of the elephant). Unique to Kruger there are a limited number of these bulls currently in the Kruger National Park, several Emerging tuskers are showing potential but time will determine if these will rival the Great Tuskers of the past.
Where can people access the info: All the information relating to the emerging tuskers project including photo and information pages on the Magnificent 7, Past Tuskers, Tuskers presumed deceased (these are named bulls that have not been seen for more than 10 years but for whom no carcass has been found); Female Tuskers and Current Emerging Tuskers can be found on the SANParks website with the link:
http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/el ... efault.php.
This website is updated regularly by the project co-ordinator and is accurate to date for the Emerging Tuskers named and recognised by SANParks.
Contact details as to where to submit images can be found on this page as well. For those wanting to simply add their sightings to the database can submit images to
[email protected] alternatively those wanting an identification or confirmation that their sighting qualifies as a tusker can submit to
[email protected]. People should note the rules of submitting their sightings before submitting their sightings.
Skills in IDing tuskers, problems incorrect naming causes…Identification of Emerging tuskers can be challenging and takes time to develop the skills and to know what to look for. Most people pay the most attention to the ivory. However this can be misleading as the ivory can appear different in length and shape from several angles and is not always reliable. Many tuskers also have similarly shaped ivory and can be difficult to differentiate between the bulls in particular when the share overlapping home ranges. The ear notches, tusk thickening and other ‘blemishes’ are therefore the most valuable.
Incorrect identification and incorrect naming practices cause confusion and weaken the value of the existing data base. Care should always be taken to ensure identifications are done by those who have the necessary skills in this area.
The images submitted on these forums (specifically to the tusker issue at hand) have been re-directed to a personal website and as a result people who are under the impression they are contributing to the SANParks research project (many of who are the loyal forum members). This data is not being captured in the data base and that there is no actual link between this private data base and SANParks. There is no working in conjunction with SANParks. This is not clearly stated on the private website.
The Emerging Tusker project is exclusive and there are only a limited number of named tuskers - and yet there is criticism that the Elephant Hall and Webpage are outdated. This is not the case.
Many elephants that have been named here on the forums would not be recognized as emerging tuskers by SANParks as they are not big enough or there is insufficient info to determine if these are not already named. To name them anyway would water down the merit and exclusivity of the project. While people, in their private capacity on private websites can name every elephant in the Kruger they must indicate which are recognized by Kruger and which have been personally named. If not clearly stated this can be again very misleading for people wanting to contribute to the data base.
Several guests have gone to the Elephant Hall for confirmations on ID’s done by Aat, most of these have been incorrect and in some cases are of the ‘self-named tuskers’ which SANParks have to then indicate to the guests do not qualify as tuskers or are not one of theirs. As an example, on the TOA website there are numerous images identified as Bidzane. But further down are yet more images identified as the same animal but are mis-identifications. This causes serious problems with the accuracy of the data and again waters down the validity of the project.
due to a watermark/signature as discussed in http://www.sanparks.org/forums/viewtopic.php?style=2&f=75&t=77167. maybe if a explanation can be given on what's allowed and what's not as asked also
