In the early hours of 15th August 2024, a large elephant tusk was found in the heart of community land. Residents stumbled upon the ivory lying on the ground and reported their discovery to KWS.

The KWS Problem Animal Control Unit went to the scene and found a large tusk sitting in a pool of blood. It was a confusing situation; the tusk was whole, but there was no elephant to be found. Further muddying the waters, it was in the middle of the community, far from protected land. We didn’t know what an elephant was doing there, how he came to lose his tusk, and worse still, where he was now.

The following day, the SWT helicopter flew down to investigate the situation. Our pilot eventually found the bull on community land northwest of KARI Ranch, east of the Mombasa Road and the SGR railway. In other words, he was well and truly trapped: In order to get back to Nasaru Conservancy, KARI Ranch, and the Tsavo ecosystem, beyond, he would have to cross a highly trafficked highway and then a very busy rail line. The bull had miraculously avoided a collision getting onto community land in the first place, but we weren’t willing to tempt fate a second time.

The helicopter hovered to assess the bull’s condition. He looked unwell, listless and thin. Our pilot clocked a puncture injury beneath his right eye socket, which clearly had something to do with his lost tusk. The situation escalated later that day, when the bull knocked over a community member. He had to be moved to a more suitable environment — and fast.

KWS greenlit a translocation and we organised the operation for the following morning. Our low-loader crane truck drove to the scene, along with our SWT/KWS Anti-Poaching Team, SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Vet Unit, and the KWS Problem Animal Control Unit.

As soon as Dr Limo darted the bull from the helicopter, teams moved in to load him onto the truck. Concurrently, the Vet Unit treated his face injury. They found that the injury was likely inflicted by another bull’s tusk in a fight. It went straight beneath the eye and punctured the base of his tusk, causing severe sepsis and rotting away the surrounding area, which caused the ivory to fall out.

In the course of the treatment, the team extracted fragments of bone, shards of ivory, and litres of pus, underscoring just how grave the infection was. Dr Limo is hopeful that the infection is now under control and that the bull will be able to make a complete recovery in the fullness of time.

With the tusk treated, it was time to bring the bull to safety. We were mindful that he was suffering with a major injury and sepsis, so we didn’t want him to be under anaesthesia for too long. KARI was the nearest secure landscape. This area, which is part of our Saving Habitats mandate, is ideal elephant territory and opens into the greater Tsavo Conservation Area. Protected by our field teams, with plenty of food and water, KARI would be a perfect place for the bull to convalesce and go forth.

In a slow procession, the truck drove its precious cargo south to KARI Ranch. As the sun started to sink below the horizon, the bull was revived in his new home. He walked into the sunset with better prospects than he began the day: protected, treated, and safe once more.

Given the severity of the bull’s injury, we are taking his recovery one day at a time. Our field and aerial teams continue to monitor his progress in the event that he needs a follow-up, which is highly likely. It has now been just over a week since his first treatment and translocation, and the bull looks to be doing well.