Tim

He witnessed half a century of changes in the Greater Amboseli ecosystem, and those changes had nearly killed him three times already. Three times, he was speared by farmers defending their crops against his night-time raids. The spears missed organs, but the close shaves were frequent reminders of his vulnerability. Last year, he got stuck in the Kimana swamp, and were it not for a quick coordinated response to pull him out, that would have been the end. Sadly, this now is.

We are hopeful that his end was natural, and all indications are that that was the case. There are no obvious wounds on his body, nor any sign of foul play, but we need to wait for the full post-mortem test results from Kenya Wildlife Service before we will know for sure.

Tim leaves a huge hole in the heart of the Amboseli ecosystem, and on the earth. Thankfully, his genes live on in many of the other Amboseli elephants. There can and will be more like him in future, if we continue to protect the rest of his kind.