In January 2017, guards at Tsavo National Park in Kenya found the body of Satao II. This African elephant in his fifties was one of the last super tuskers , a name given to specimens with huge tusks. In some cases, these are around two meters long and even brush the ground. Those of Satao II weighed about 50 kilos.
Today, less than thirty of these giants remain, most of them in the aforementioned Tsavo Conservation Area. Of course, their exact location is not disseminated, because they are irresistible prey for poachers. In fact, despite the vigilance, Satao II was killed with a poisoned arrow . His corpse was found before hunters could seize his ivory. For this same cause, between 20,000 and 30,000 elephants die each year in Africa, according to figures managed by the World Wildlife Fund.
Your greatest enemy
Elephants can use their tusks to defend themselves. In this sense, they are intimidating, but, in reality, it is the very size of these mammals, the largest among land animals today – they can measure up to four meters in height and weigh seven tons -, which protects them against potential predators. Even so, the family group must pay constant attention to the young, otherwise they could not survive. In the water, where they spend a lot of time, they are easy prey for crocodiles, although their greatest threat is lions .
Specialists in harassing herds in search of young, sick or weakened animals, these cats have developed a refined hunting technique that allows them to capture these proboscis. According to studies carried out in the Chobe National Park (Botswana) by conservationist Dereck Joubert, a renowned expert in making nature documentaries, they follow a strategy very similar to that used to hunt buffalo. First, they run towards the herd from various directions and scatter the animals to separate possible prey. When they succeed, they surround her and try to knock her down. Once on the ground, it has little chance of surviving the attack.
The young specimens that move on the periphery of the group are the most vulnerable. In addition, Joubert observed, the behavior of the herd varies if it is a female or a male. In the latter case, although everything happens within fifty meters of the other elephants, the adults do not usually intervene. Smaller young, under constant surveillance from their mothers, are more difficult to hunt.
Natural swiss army knife
Elephants also use their tusks to clear branches and trunks and move them. However, the most versatile tool of these animals is the trunk. This works as if it were a Swiss army knife: it serves to breathe, smell, touch, grasp, eat, drink and even play. It is the result of a fusion between the upper lip and the nose, and its more than 40,000 muscles – the human body has about 650 – give it enormous flexibility and great strength, as it can lift up to 350 kilos.
Image: Schuyler Shepherd via Wikimedia / CC
