Isilo (c. 1956 – 2014) was one of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

’s largest

African elephants African elephants are members of the genus ''Loxodonta'' comprising two living elephant species, the African bush elephant (''L. africana'') and the smaller African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''). Both are social herbivores with grey skin. ...

and the largest living tusker in the southern hemisphere before his death. He was known as a '' tusker,'' a male elephant with

tusk Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canine tooth, canine teeth, as with Narwhal, narwhals, chevrotains, musk deer, water deer, muntjac, pigs, ...

s weighing over 100 pounds. Although Isilo died of natural causes relating to old age, his death attracted international media attention because his tusks, considered a National Heritage artifact, were missing when his body was discovered.

Background

Isilo was an African elephant that lived in

Tembe Elephant Park Tembe Elephant Park is a 30 012 ha game reserve in Maputaland, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is adjacent to Ndumo Game Reserve. The park was developed by Tembe Tribal Authority and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. It was established in 1983 to protect ...

in South Africa. "Isilo" means “King” in Zulu. Born during the late 1950s, he was estimated to have been at least 58 years old when he died. Isilo weighed between 6.5 and 7 tonnes. Isilo's tusks were estimated to be more than 3 meters (9 feet) long. The right tusk weighed about 65 kg (143 pounds) and the left about 60 kg (132 pounds).

Death

Isilo died of natural causes in an area known to be his home range in a southwest section of the park around 10 January 2014. His carcass was discovered in late March 2014 and his death was announced on April 4, 2014 by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and Ernest Robbertse, Manager of the Tembe Elephant Park Lodge. However, his tusks were missing, having apparently been removed sometime between his death and the discovery of his corpse, most likely by suspected rhino poachers and transported over the border into

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

where tusks are shipped to the Far East, the world's biggest market for ivory. Isilo's tusks were estimated to have a

black market A black market is a Secrecy, clandestine Market (economics), market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality, or is not compliant with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the set of goods and services who ...

value of approximately R3 million (about

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

250,000).

Reactions to the death

Isilo's death resulted in international media attention due to his celebrity status and the loss of his tusks, considered a National Heritage artifact. Isilo's tusks were the heritage of the Tembe clan, part owners and ancestral custodians of the Tembe Elephant Park. Inkosi Mabhudu Tembe, chief of the Tembe clan, planned to offer the tusks to South Africa for display at the King Shaka Airport in

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

to promote tourism. In April 2014, Inkosi Tembe offered a R100 000 (approx

8600) reward for the return of the missing tusks.

Other large tuskers

Tsavo East National Park Tsavo East National Park is a national park in Kenya with an area of . It was established in April 1948 and covers a semi-arid area previously known as the Taru Desert. Together with the Tsavo West National Park, it forms an area of about 22,0 ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

in June 2014, Satao, the biggest tusker in East Africa (with ivory as big as Isilo's), was killed by poachers with a poisoned spear. This came shortly after Satao survived another similar attempt.

Books and other media

Isilo is acknowledged in two books by Dr. Johan Marais, who believes that the largest elephants in the world can be found in the Tembe National Elephant Park: * Marais, Johan (2008) ''Great Tuskers of Africa'' Penguin Global; * Marais, Johan (2011) ''In Search of Africa’s Great Tuskers'' Penguin Global; James Currie, international wildlife expert, was the last person to film Isilo before the tusker's death. In 2016, Currie launched a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

campaign to film ''Last of the Big Tuskers'' a documentary about the largest elephants on earth and what is being done to ensure their survival. The documentary was released in October 2018.

References