Three years ago, Satao, one of the greatest remaining big tusker elephants in East Africa, was gunned down in his prime by poachers for his ivory. 

Today, we mourn another of these last giant tuskers: Satao 2, killed by poachers with what appears to have been poisoned arrows. His body, with his tusks still intact, was found this weekend by Kenya Wildlife Service rangers in Tsavo East National Park. 

Only six of these giant tuskers are now estimated to remain in the entire Tsavo ecosystem in Kenya. This brings home all the more dramatically just how vulnerable the giant tusked elephants are in the area that Big Life protects.

A world-famous elephant such as Tim, Amboseli’s largest tusker, who has been speared twice in the last year or two (and recovered), is now collared in an attempt to better protect him.

We feel outrage when one of these elephants with giant tusks is killed by poachers. But in truth, a life is a life, and the lives of ALL elephants matter equally. 

So Big Life’s rangers will continue to protect the lives of ALL elephants in the 2-million-acre ecosystem they patrol.

Image Credits: Dex Kotze & Tsavo Trust via Africa Geographic