A herd of elephants at Amboseli National Park in Kajiado County, Kenya on April 4, 2024.
In just three years, environmentalists predict, Kenya’s iconic Super Tuskers — elephants with the largest tusks — could face extinction in the Greater Amboseli Game Reserve, a crisis driven by a recent surge in trophy hunting allowed by neighbouring Tanzania.
This troubling trend has targeted the renowned elephants with the largest tusks (Super Tuskers), where they have been hunted and killed by trophy hunters in Northern Tanzania.
According to researchers and conservationists, in late 2023, two mature male elephants from Kenya, each sporting tusks weighing over 100 pounds, were tragically killed in Tanzania—a direct violation of a 30-year moratorium on trophy hunting.
This was followed by the shooting of a third Kenyan elephant in February 2024, and as of now, up to five super tuskers have been hunted and killed.
“What is worrying is that they are trying to conceal evidence by burning them and what we end up discovering are graves or ashes in worst case scenario, where it becomes impossible to identify the elephants involved,” explains Dr Paula Kahumbu, the chief executive officer of WildlifeDirect, a global pro-conservation agency.
According to research by scientists at Amboseli Trust for Elephants (ATE), each elephant is known individually and has a code number or name and is documented photographically. A detailed database contains every elephant identified over five decades, including births and deaths, and numbers over 4,000 individuals. A linked database houses every recorded sighting.
The uptick in poaching is linked to Tanzania’s controversial decision to issue new hunting permits for elephants in their northern regions.
Tanzania’s Wildlife Conservation Act of 2019 prohibits the hunting of elephants with tusks weighing less than 20 kg or measuring less than 160 cm. Yet, recent developments have alarmed conservationists.
The hunting season in Tanzania begins from July 1 to December 31 and permits are issued ahead of the season. More permits are set to be issued imminently.
While management of elephants in Tanzania is recognized as the sovereign duty of the Tanzanian government, this population is shared and their protection has been achieved for three decades through a bilateral agreement.
The Amboseli elephant population is a cross-border population inhabiting both Kenya and Tanzania.
According to research by Elephant Voices, Big Life Foundation and Amboseli Trust for Elephants, the ecosystem includes Amboseli National Park and the surrounding conservancies and lands in Kenya (~8,000 km2) and the Enduimet Wildlife Management Area and beyond in Tanzania.
There are currently 65 elephant families comprising about 2,000 elephants using this ecosystem. Seventeen families totalling 365 members, representing about 20 percent, frequently cross into Tanzania.
The Amboseli population includes some of Africa's largest-tusked adult males with some of the largest tusks on the continent owing to the particular genetic makeup. Their remarkable tusks have been showcased in institutions like the British Museum.
But now only ten elephants with tusks weighing around 45 kg (100 lbs) each remain in Kenya, with many of Africa’s largest tusked elephants found in Amboseli.
According to scientists, it takes about 35 years for a male elephant to attain the size and experience to breed annually.
“Majority of calves are fathered by the same few older males sought by trophy hunters,” explains Dr Joyce Poole, Scientific Director at ElephantVoices
Scientists fear that once the hunters finish the big bulls, they will go for the younger ones.
“The targeted individuals are males in their reproductive prime, essential for sustaining the population,” explains Dr Kahumbu.
Nation has sent questions to Kilombero and had not received by the time of going to press, but in an email correspondence between Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), the managers of Kilombero North Safaris addressed the matters in question.
Through Zidane Janbeck, the agency told OCCRP, the global investigative agency, they legally conduct the safaris in “strict adherence to Tanzanian law” in a “community wildlife area allocated to the company.”
They add that they are strong believers in conservation through sustainable utilization,” and that “the knock on effect of this influx of cash has been vast improvement in the quality of life of the local communities.” Further, that “without hunting, there will be no conservation.”
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) referred Nation to the ministry for comment.
“KWS is constrained from responding on a policy matter concerning a neighbouring sister country since Kenya has bilateral engagement/agreements in place to guide our relationships and policies. Therefore, kindly engage with the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife for further guidance on this matter,” KWS communications told Nation Africa in an email.
Wildlife Principal Secretary Sylvia Museiya told the Nation that the ministry was seized of the matter and were addressing the concerns.
“We have received the same concerns and are collating data to ensure we give an accurate account and statement soon,” Ms Museiya said.
In Kenya, elephant hunting has been prohibited since 1973. Under The Wildlife Act of Kenya (WCMA 2013), engaging in sport hunting is considered a crime, punishable by a minimum fine of Sh20 million, life imprisonment, or both, specifically for black rhinos, white rhinos, and elephants.
But in Tanzania, elephant hunting remains legal, as hunting companies can obtain hunting licenses from Tanzania Wildlife Authority (TAWA) designated offices on behalf of a client, which has led to a distressing increase in trophy hunting activities in recent years.
Kilombero North Safaris, a prominent hunting company, has been at the center of this controversy, with its recent activities exacerbating the threat to Amboseli’s elephants.
However, Amboseli Trust for Elephant’s researcher Cynthia Moss argues this is not the case, and that elephants like Gilgil were in their prime breeding years.
Late last year, Gilgil, a well-known male elephant in the conservancy was shot and killed on the Tanzanian side of the cross-border area by international sport hunters. At his death, he was only 35 years old and just entering his reproductive years.
For 51 years, these elephants have been closely studied by the Amboseli Elephant Research Project (AERP), the longest, continuously running study of elephants in the world and one of the longest studies of any animal in the world.
According to researchers, some 20-25 mature bulls are at risk of being taken for trophies are thought to routinely use the area, where trophy hunting is now taking place for the first time in three decades.
Historically, the Amboseli elephants have benefited from stringent protections against poaching and trophy hunting. However, recent changes have rekindled fears of a repeat of the 1994 tragedy when hunters killed four famous elephants near the Kenya-Tanzania border, breaching a long-standing agreement to safeguard these majestic animals.
Hunting season
In 1994 there was international outcry when four well known elephants (RBG, Sleepy, Saibulu, and Oloitipitip), subjects of the Amboseli Elephant Research Project, were shot by trophy hunters on the Tanzanian side of the border. In 1995 a moratorium on trophy hunting of this trans-boundary elephant population was agreed between nations.
Unfortunately, the agreement was shattered in 2022 when Kilombero North Safaris, won the Ngasurai concession, and the trophy hunting of elephants began in 2023. According to statistics by conservationists, in the last eight months, five members of the Greater Amboseli–West Kilimanjaro elephant population have been shot by trophy hunters when they ventured across the border from Kenya into Tanzania.
Hunting is controlled by quota issued annually under quota allocation advisory committee based on harvest theory, animal populations, and search efforts. The Tanzania Wildlife Authority (TAWA) sets quotas annually and last season set a quota of five elephants for the north eastern hunting zone.
The hunting season runs from July 1 to December 31, where the country offers a diverse range of huntable animals, and elephants are some of the common species that are targeted. The allocation of hunting blocks in game reserves, controlled areas, and wildlife open areas is managed by the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, using methods such as auctions or tenders.
We contacted the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute via email for insights on the threat to Kenya's Super Tuskers and current hunting regulations in Tanzania, but at the time we went to press, we had not yet received a response from them.
According to Dr Kahumbu, by refusing to issue permits in the migration zones of these elephants, Tanzania could align with Kenya’s conservation efforts and help secure a future for the Super Tuskers.
That is why on Monday, August 12, 2024, on World Elephant Day, conservationists petitioned President William Ruto and his Tanzanian counterpart, Samia Suluhu, to partner on cross border elephant protection.
Super Tuskers are not just emblematic of Africa’s wildlife heritage; they play a critical role in biodiversity, tourism, and cultural heritage.
Researchers and conservationists emphasize that, with a staggering 75 percent of Tanzania’s elephant population lost in recent decades, the survival of these majestic giants is more crucial than ever.
