One of the few “giant tusker” elephants left in the world was killed in a poaching incident in Kenya, but its valuable ivory tusks weren't taken.
The 50-year-old elephant, Satao II, was found dead near the Tsavo National Park border, and a conservation group believes it may have been killed by poachers, according to BBC News.
Giant tuskers get their name from their ivory tusks that reach to the ground. Satao II was named after another giant tusker that died in a poaching incident in 2014.
A poisoned arrow may have been used to Kill Sato II, but a cause of death has yet to be confirmed. Two men have been arrested.
“I am pretty gutted really,” said Richard Moller, the head of the Tsavo Trust, per BBC.
“This particular elephant was one that was very approachable, one of those easy old boys to find, Moller added. “Many of the others are much more difficult to see.”
“He has been through lots of droughts and probably other attempts at poaching,” Moller said.
With Satao II dead, that leaves just about 25 giant tusker elephants in the wild, according to The Telegraph.
A statement was issued on the Tsavo Trust following the incident.
“Although this is a very sad loss in every way, we can take some positive from this in that Satao II’s carcass was indeed found with the ivory intact and recovered before it could fall into the wrong hands and further fuel the illegal ivory market but also more importantly, this poaching gang that possibly tried to poach Satao II has been broken forever.”
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