Tanzania’s Trophy Hunting Threat to Super Tuskers in Amboseli

Super tuskers roam freely in Kenya’s Amboseli National Park but do not know what awaits when they cross to neighboring Tanzania where trophy hunting is licensed. I feel bewildered as to why some people have the desire to kill rare and valuable wildlife for personal pleasure.

Hunting is illegal in Kenya, but in Tanzania, it’s a multi-million-dollar industry licensed by the Government. According to the Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority (TAWA), 90 % of the funds used for wildlife conservation are proceeds of trophy hunting. But is it worth interfering with the rich natural heritage?

We haven’t even forgotten about the killing of Cecil the lion who lived in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park. The death of the third bull elephant in Tanzania in six months is nerve-wracking. This leaves only about 10 super tuskers in the Amboseli Ecosystem.

How Kenya’s elephants are at risk of trophy hunting

Kenya’s super tuskers are large elephants with one or both tusks weighing over 100-pounds. 

They are among about 2000 elephants living in the ecosystem which includes Kenya’s Amboseli National Park and the Enduimet Wildlife Management Area in Tanzania.

It is understood that, since 1995, Kenya and Tanzania have had a moratorium on trophy hunting of the cross-border elephant population. Now, almost 30 years later, this bilateral conservation agreement between the two countries seems to have been ignored by Tanzania’s side.

Joseph Ole Lenku, the Governor of Kajiado County within which Amboseli National Park is located, expressed great concerns about the recent trophy hunting in Tanzania but near the border with Kenya. The super tuskers are among the victims of this despicable practice.

“In the past few months, three of these revered elephants have tragically fallen victim to trophy hunting within Tanzania, signaling a distressing breach of the established conservation agreement. This alarming development underscores the urgent necessity for heightened vigilance and decisive action to uphold conservation efforts in the region”. He said.

What is in the public domain

During the later part of 2023, two super tuskers were hunted and killed in the Enduimet area, near the Kenyan border, and in March this year, The Times reported that another elephant bull, from the Amboseli elephant population, had been shot and killed in the same area.

This is reportedly the third “super tusker” killed near the Tanzanian-Kenyan border within the past six months. A prominent American trophy hunter from Texas was allegedly involved in this killing which took place during a hunting expedition operated by Kilombero North Safaris.

The Big Life Foundation issued a statement confirming the killing. Their report highlighted that the elephant carcasses were incinerated, making the identification process impossible. But it was certain that they all came  from the cross-border Amboseli population.

Why hunting endangers elephants

Elephants are among the big 5 animals that everyone yearns to see when they visit Africa. The tourism value of these mammoth creatures surpasses what trophy hunters offer to cut their lives short. So killing them for sport or personal desires is not helpful but endangers their survival.

According to Dr Audrey Delsink, elephant behavior expert and wildlife director for Humane Society International, “the killing of these iconic animals isn’t just a biological travesty but a moral tragedy and a stain on humanity’s conscience.” 

Mature bulls have so much to offer to the future generations. They not only produce viable offspring but also play a vital role in nurturing younger males. Elephants live in families well protected by adults. They even emotionally mourn like humans when one of them dies.

The myth about old elephants

“It is a myth that they are expendable as they approach 40+ years of age. This is not the end of their breeding lives but rather when they are at their highest reproductive success, and they should not be senselessly cut down in their prime.” Delsink explained.

Indeed, studies have shown that male elephants dedicate more of their energy toward reproducing when they hit maturity. Thus the ‘conscious selection’ of adult males has detrimental effects that can lead to the collapse of the entire elephant population.

Dr Joyce Poole, co-founder and Scientific Director of ElephantVoices, also says, “Fifty years of research on Amboseli’s known individuals have shown that males between 35 and 55 years of age are the primary breeders. Hunters who claim that older males are “dead wood” are just plain ignorant of the science.”

Other survival threats 

In addition to trophy hunting, elephants in Africa face a population decline due to the following:

Ivory trade

After unprecedented cases of poaching witnessed in 1980, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) imposed a ban on the international trade in ivory. Despite this, tens of thousands of elephants are still being killed for their tusks.

The trade is driven by the demand for ivory particularly in Asia where some communities use it for traditional medicine and in making ornaments. 

Conflict with humans

There has been increased elephant-human conflict in Africa as more land is being converted into agriculture. Elephants have been killed for invading farms. Retaliatory attacks have also been recorded when the jumbos kill humans in their homes or farmlands.

With the increase in human population comes urban settlements and infrastructure development. Things like the construction of roads and buildings have displaced wildlife from their habitats. The animals also face dangers such as electrocution by power lines and accidents caused by motor vehicles.

Final thought

Trophy hunting is not only a big threat to our continental heritage but also contravenes all the conservation efforts in place. Tanzania, as one of the leading tourist destinations in Africa, must reconsider its licensing policy for trophy hunting, particularly in the entire Amboseli ecosystem to help protect the iconic super tuskers that freely roam the wooded savannah grassland.