Tim: Iconic Amboseli elephant known for its big tusks is dead (Kenya)

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Tuko

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Kenya’s iconic elephant known for its big tusks has passed on at Amboseli National Park. Tim, the 50-year-old tusker, was found dead in the morning of Tuesday, February 4, at Mada area where he used to roam around with other female elephants.

In a statement issued by Kenya Wildlife Service, the remains were transferred to the National Museums of Kenya in Nairobi to prepare the body for preservation and education purposes. 

 
“Elephant families are matriarchal and males are solitary from the group when they reach sexual maturity. But Tim was always welcome to travel in the company of females and their families,” read the statement in part.

According to KWS director-general John Waweru, the pride of Kenya died out of old age.

Tim was one of the last remaining breeds of Africa’s big tuskers that has been roaming in the park for years. He was on the limelight in 2018, when he got stuck in the mud and was rescued by conservationists who used a tractor and land cruisers to pull him out. The animal had been stuck at the Amboseli swamps in Kimana sanctuary and it took four hours to pull it from the mud. 

 
The iconic elephant has over the years survived several spear wounds inflicted on him not by poachers but by people living near the park.

In 2016, the tusker was speared in the head and to the surprise of many, walked itself to the conservationists who removed the spear. 

 
In 2014, he was spotted limping around the park only for conservationists to discover he had been speared in the rump and the wound turned septic. They smeared the infected area with green clay which has antibacterial properties and he soon recovered.

https://www.tuko.co.ke/338757-tim-iconic-amboseli-elephant-big-tusks-dead.html