CNN
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Imagine being a kid and having a front row seat every day to one of nature’s most remarkable live-action shows. That was the reality for conservationist Joseph Kyalo, who grew up bordering the largest protected area in Kenya.
Tsavo East National Park is known as the “Wild Theatre” and is the oldest park in Kenya. Together with Tsavo West National Park and other reserves, it forms a conservation area covering approximately 42,000 square kilometers (16,200 sq mi), known as the Tsavo ecosystem.
Rhinoceros, buffalo, lion, leopard, cheetah, wildebeest and zebra call it home, but among its inhabitants is a giant animal that stops people in their tracks. At 10 to 13 feet tall, it’s a rare type of elephant—positively prehistoric-looking—known as a super tusker.
“My first encounter with a large elephant was here in Tsavo National Park, and I was stunned by how big the tusks were,” Kyalo recalls. “They were huge, over 100 pounds per side, and very tall and symmetrical, almost touching the ground.”
The thrill of watching nature’s shows as a child ignited a passion and then a career in Joseph. He is a conservation officer and pilot for the Tsavo Trust, an organization dedicated to protecting wildlife in the Tsavo Conservation Area (TCA) – specifically, the Super Tuskers.
“The Tsavo ecosystem arguably holds the largest number of large elephants in Africa,” says Kyalo. The problem is that it’s not a lot.
A super tusker is a bull elephant with each of its tusks weighing more than 100 pounds (45 kg) and are so tall that they often touch the ground according to the Tsavo Trust.
There are about two dozen of these magnificent animals left in the world, with most, if not all, currently concentrated in Kenya. South Africa’s Kruger National Park is keeping a close watch on several elephants there that are likely to be emerging elephants.
Elephant tusks are elongated incisor teeth that appear around the age of two and continue to grow throughout the elephant’s 60 to 70-year life span. Elephants not only use their tusks as their primary defense system, but also to collect food and protect their trunks. Wildlife experts have observed that, like left- or right-handed humans, elephants are either left-handed or right-handed, with dominant tusks worn down by more frequent use.
A super tusker has a genetic variation that causes its teeth to grow faster and longer. And yet, it is also this somewhat menacing-looking trait that makes a tusker so vulnerable.
According to Kylo, the chances of seeing a large tusker in its natural habitat are dwindling. Poaching of these wandering giants has drastically reduced their numbers.
“These giant elephants are under constant threat from poachers and trophy hunters in countries where the practice is permitted,” says Kyalo. “There are about 25 individuals left in the world, most of whom live in the Tsavo Conservation Area. It is vital that everything possible is done to save the last viable gene pool of ‘Big Tuskers’.
The Tsavo Trust was therefore established in 2013. In partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), the main objective of the organization is to track, monitor and protect the Super Tuskers and their habitat as well as other wildlife in the Tsavo Conservation Area. ,
This ecosystem is home to Kenya’s largest elephant population. A 2021 wildlife census puts the number at 15,989 – this is about 40% of the country’s elephants.
Conservation protecting Africa’s vulnerable animals
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– Source: CNN
Kylo says there are other rare animals here, including the hirola (critically endangered antelope), the endangered Grevy’s zebra and a fifth of the country’s critically endangered black rhinoceros.
Poaching and trophy hunting are not the only threats to endangered wildlife in Kenya. “Other issues include human-wildlife conflict,” says Kylo. Elephants and other animals have been known to raid people’s crops, which can lead to retaliation. The Tsavo Trust and the KWS work to reduce the problem by building fences around cultivated areas.
“A lot of conservation awareness has been done by our community department team to promote coexistence between wildlife and people,” says Kyalo.
Like Kylo’s childhood experience, the hope is that positive encounters with wildlife will help inspire conservation within the communities surrounding the protected area.
Kyalo and his fellow field team members continue to monitor elephants with the hope of not only conservation, but also an increase in their numbers.
“A future where there are no ‘Big Tuskers’ in Tsavo is inconceivable,” says Kyalo. “The presence of these majestic animals brings large numbers of tourists to the park each year and this income is vital to further conservation efforts and to support local communities.”