Heritage was a bull who was collared as part of Save the Elephants’ collaboration with the Mara Elephant Project. His movements were helping reveal for the first time how the Maasai Mara’s bull elephants use their environment. This information is crucial for both for their defence in this current crisis, and for planning a future for them.
Big bulls often give their collars a hard time, and Heritage was no exception. Towards the end of 2012 he had us all worried when his tracking device sent us an ‘immobility alert’, signifying that his collar had been stationary for an unnaturally long time. Too often this means a dead elephant. But when researchers went to the location they found a broken collar, not a crime scene.
This was a relief – Heritage was no stranger to danger. After his initial collaring he had to be treated twice for a suspected arrow wound. Tranquilising an elephant is a nerve-wracking business especially when the animal in question is a big bull, but both operations were successful. When his broken collar was replaced, we hoped to have another two or three years of getting better acquainted with this magnificent bull and his habits.
Heritage – named after the US organisation that funds the Mara Elephant Project and much else besides – was in good health and was moving through the thick forests of the Transmara near Kawai town on the evening of the 31st March when he faced a volley of gunfire from a G3 automatic weapon. The shots were heard in three different locations between 6pm and 6.30pm.
The Mara Elephant Project’s Quick Reaction Force got to the carcass first thing the next morning. More than ten bullets were found in Heritage’s right side, and his GPS collar had been cut off and hidden. Tracks were followed and by the end of the day three suspects had been detained. The case is ongoing – we’ll post news as soon as we know how it turns out.