Kenya confirms death of 54-year-old iconic elephant

Nairobi: The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) on Saturday announced the death of a 54 year old iconic elephant named Craig at its habitat in Amboseli Nati...

Nairobi: The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) on Saturday announced the death of a 54-year-old iconic elephant named Craig at its habitat in Amboseli National Park.

"Early this morning, Amboseli National Park, Kenya and indeed the world lost a true icon. Craig, the legendary super tusker famed for its immense ground-sweeping tusks and calm, dignified presence, passed on at the age of 54," the agency said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.

The iconic jumbo, born in January 1972, was one of the last remaining super tuskers in Africa, a rare class of bull elephants whose tusks weigh more than 45 kg each, according to the KWS.

Craig was a living monument to Africa's natural heritage, having fathered several calves and thereby ensuring the continuity of its bloodline and gentle character, the KWS said.

Besides its extraordinary tusks, Craig was adored for its calm nature, often posing as visitors filmed it, and became an ambassador of Amboseli and a symbol of a successful elephant conservation model, the KWS added.