RIP Big Tusker Ulysses
Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation. - Rumi
The world has lost another Big Tusker. These animals represent a group of African elephants with huge tusks unique to the Amboseli and Tsavo regions of southern Kenya. I feel incredibly lucky I met Tim, the largest living Big Tusker in the world, three weeks before he died in February 2020. One of Tim’s companions was Ulysses, another big bull in his prime with beautiful, large tusks that splayed out from his massive head. This weekend I learned Ulysses died of natural causes age 43. Elephants have a similar life span to humans. Ulysses was in his prime and represented an important gene pool for the herds of elephants in the region. It is a huge loss.
It was a dream come true to meet five Big Tuskers minutes after landing in Amboseli in January 2020. Tim and his buddies were resting under a tall acacia tree in the heat of the afternoon. Bull elephants hang out in “men’s groups” when they are not in musth. During musth their testosterone levels can increase 60x. They leave their friends and wander alone searching for females in estrus. Musth in a mature elephant like Ulysses can last 2-3 months.
If you are wondering how these elephants got their names, credit goes to 50 years of research by The Amboseli Trust. Much of what is understood about African elephants is thanks to the in-depth research by Dr. Cynthia Moss and her colleagues. Dr. Moss developed a set of rules for naming the elephants. Each family group are given a two-letter code, e.g. AA, AB etc. Ulysses was born in Feb. 1979 and is from the UA family. His mother was UNA.
In 1968, Cynthia Moss made a life-changing decision and moved to Africa to study elephants in northern Tanzania with Iain Douglas-Hamilton. Four years later, teaming up with Harvey Croze, she found ideal conditions for studying elephants in Amboseli National Park. Four decades later, her work is the longest-running study of wild elephants ever undertaken, documenting the lives and deaths of almost 3,000 elephants. The Amboseli Elephant Research Project is now a hub for research collaboration and training.
Studies in Amboseli have provided unique and critical information on elephant birth rates, death rates, ranging patterns and nutritional needs, illuminated by analyses of their underlying determining factors. But the studies have also revealed much more: that elephants communicate at a very sophisticated level; that they celebrate birth, have lifelong friendships and appear to mourn the death of family members. Research has shown them to be highly intelligent with the ability to reason and problem solve and has provided a window onto their complex social structure.
These discoveries made in Amboseli have altered the way in which conservationists approach the management of elephant populations. what was once viewed as just a herd must now be respected as a family. What was once seen as ivory on the hoof must be recognized as a matriarch whose accumulated knowledge can keep her family alive in times of drought or famine. The magnificent bull with 100-pound tusks is a male in his reproductive prime who should be passing on his genes for health and longevity, not gracing the trophy room of a sport hunter.
My last encounter with Ulysses was on my final game drive with my guide Pilipili. We hoped to find the bulls close by since I’d watched two of them enjoy a mud bath at the lodge’s water hole earlier that afternoon. The first elephant we came across seemed menacing at first. He lifted his trunk and sniffed us out carefully waving his trunk in the air like a scent gathering periscope. Fortunately, he decided we were not a threat. We followed him and discovered Ulysses enjoying a dust bath around the corner.
Ulysses tossed his massive head at the younger bull, declaring his position in the hierarchy of the men’s club.
As if on cue, Ulysses led us to Tim and three other bulls grazing in the fading light. I will never forget my last sundowner in Amboseli with Pilipili and the Big Tuskers. It felt like a sacred moment. RIP Ulysses. I’m grateful I met you and I’m happy to know your offspring are roaming the Amboseli and Tsavo plains of Southern Kenya.
