He was the oldest and largest elephant in Kenya but he’s no more…the sad unfortunate story of Satao II

Satao II is no more; just like the other big tusker he was named after; he has perished in the hands of poachers.

One of Kenya’s last tusker elephants, Satao II’s body was found during a routine aerial reconnaissance by the Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS) near the Voi River in Tsavo East National Park, according to the Tsavo Trust, a nonprofit conservation group which helps manage the park.

It is still unclear what killed the behemoth creature but Tsavo trust has reason to believe he was shot with a poisoned arrow.

Named after a famous tusker elephant killed in the same area in 2014 named Satao, it is thought Satao II was feeding near the boundary of the park when he died in January, but poachers had not had time to retrieve his ivory before he was found.

He was killed in a well-known hotspot for poachers that same spot being the same place Satao was killed.

Tusker elephants, so-called because they have tusks weighing more than 45kg, are particularly desirable to poachers because they produce so much ivory meaning they are critically endangered.

According to Richard Moller, of the Tsavo Trust, there are only about 25 of the giant tuskers remaining in the world. About 15 of these are in Kenya.

One of Satao II’s tusks weighed 112 pounds, and the other 110 pounds. Each tusk estimated to be worth over $130,000 (£85,000).

Fortunately, KWS agents worked with rangers from the trust managed to track the gang leading to a raid shortly after Satao II was found, where two poachers were arrested and an AK47, 12 poisoned arrows and three bows.

In a statement on their website, the Tsavo Trust said: “Although this is a very sad loss in every way, we can take some positive from this in that Satao II’s carcass was indeed found with the ivory intact and recovered before it could fall into the wrong hands and further fuel the illegal ivory market.

Satao II was 50 years old.