Origin of the name: The name ‘Hahlwa’ Tsonga meaning ‘twin’ was given to this bull due to the background and history towards his final identification. The tusks and the ear markings of this bull resemble almost identically those of Masasana and in many images would seem to be his twin.
Special Features: This tusker has easily identifiable features although these can easily be confused with those of Masasana whose features are almost identical (with the exception of the notch in the right ear). The right tusk of this bull was slightly longer and straighter then the left tusk which has a small curve at the tip. The tusks were initially close together and from a side profile appeared straight, however in December 2018 it was noted that Hahlwa had suffered a severe break to his right tusk approximately 30cm from the lip line (submission by Rian Boshoff).
The left ear has a w-shaped notch that has a piece skin hanging in the middle forming the ’w’ shape towards the middle of the ear, the right ear is the biggest differing identification mark between the bulls, a wide square notch is visible on the lower right lobe of Hahlwa and not Masasana. An oval tennis ball sized growth is also visible on his left front leg close to the top but this is not always prominently seen in images. The thickening on the trunk closely resembles the thick line markings on Masasana although with a small variation in shape towards the centre of the trunk and top left close to the ivory lip.
Another submission made on the SAParks KNP FB page.
