Meet Tim.
In December 2020, just before the world blew up, my family traveled to Kenya. There we had the joy of seeing Tim, one of the last 20 Big Tuskers (a male elephant with tusks so large that they scrape the ground) in the world!
There are few places on Earth where you can glimpse one of the remaining Big Tuskers. The conservancy we were in is home to 13,000 elephants and only 20 are Big Tuskers!
The lives of these elephants are fraught with danger. They are preyed on constantly by poachers due to the astronomical value of just one of their tusks: a single tusk from a Big Tusker is worth around $25,000 – more once it has been carved.
In fact, to protect the location of the Big Tuskers from poachers, our family was forbidden to posting ANYTHING about Tim on social media when we saw him.
In late April another Big Tusker, Tolstoy, died after sustaining a spear wound to his front leg which was likely inflicted by a farmer protecting his crops. Up until then, Tolstoy prevailed through poaching attempts, devastating droughts, a shrinking habitat and the encroaching human footprint,. Tolstoy was a leviathan, a reminder of all that nature is capable of creating — but in the end, it was the simple tip of a spear that claimed his life.
While in Kenya we also visited Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to see up-close the most successful orphan elephant rescue and rehabilitation program in the world. It was awe-inspiring.
My post today is a reminder of the fragile human-animal ecosystem we all live in.
The conservation solutions we put in place will ensure that Big Tuskers, and all those who follow in their footsteps, will always have a place in our world.
If you happen to make it to Kenya, be sure to look for our friend, Tim.
