THE SADDEST DAY! “This is so painful.” ‘These few words spoken by ranger Daudi Ni

THE SADDEST DAY!

“This is so painful.”

‘These few words spoken by ranger Daudi Ninaai describe how we are feeling at Big Life. Tolstoy, one of Africa’s biggest ‘tusker’ elephants and icon of the Amboseli ecosystem, has died at age 51.

He was speared in the leg 6 weeks ago, almost certainly by a farmer defending his crops from one of Tolstoy’s nighttime crop raids. The wound was treated, but an infection had the worst possible consequences.

Big Life’s rangers in @kimanasanctuary have monitored Tolstoy 24/7 since. Yesterday morning, they found him lying down. Upon getting closer, the rangers could see signs of his failed struggle to stand up. They knew he wasn’t napping.

Tolstoy was still alive and two @kenyawildlifeservice vet units (funded by the @sheldricktrust) responded. He was given further treatment but getting him on his feet again was unlikely from the start. For hours the rangers & vets tried to pull him up with vehicles and ropes, with no success. A front-end loader was called in as a desperate attempt, but Tolstoy was too weak to stand.

With the rescue team out of ideas, and night approaching, Tolstoy finally ran out of strength & died, surrounded by the rangers who looked over him for so long.

Ranger Lekanayia is one of these: “Today is the saddest day as a ranger, having lost one of the elephants that I treasured the most. We tried everything we could. I thought he would wake up, but he couldn’t lift himself up.”

After 50 years on earth, there isn’t much that Tolstoy hadn’t seen. His home has been transformed by humans, & it’s the consequences of expanding farmlands that eventually killed him.

His death is a reminder of the vulnerability of the largest of animals, as well as the urgent need to protect habitat for wildlife & manage the interface between wild animals & human activities. There are solutions, we are making progress despite this tragic setback.

Over his life on this planet, Tolstoy had a positive impact on countless people, and will be remembered as a calm and gentle giant. As ranger Lekanayia says, “Rest in peace Tolstoy, we will miss you.”

#repost from @biglifeafrica
Photo: @jjkclay
#elephant #rip (at Kimana Sanctuary)
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc6ZtMMtjKm/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=