LARGE - Edition of 12Unframed - 56" x 58"Framed - 71" x 73" STANDARD - Edition of 12Unframed - 37" x 39"Framed - 52" x 54" Tragically, there are probably only 23 to 25 big tuskers left in the world - these are the elephant sub species that look 95% elephant and 5% mammoth and their tusks can touch the ground. A big tusker can only be seen in two national parks - Tsavo and Amboseli - both in Southern Kenya. Given the role that genetics plays in the continuation of these magnificent animals, a big tusker is not going to born in Botswana or South Africa in my generation and there is huge pressure on both these parks, and in particular Tsavo, to ensure that a new generation emerge. The good news is that Tsavo and Amboseli are both poster child’s for elephant protection and the battle against poachers has been emphatically won in both ecosystems. There has not been an elephant poached in Amboseli for six years and in Tsavo, great men in charge of protecting the elephants - like Richard Moller of Tsavo Trust - would argue that the elephant population is now at its maximum capacity in the area - having increased markedly in the last 20 years. Big tuskers die of old age, not poaching. This magnificent old elephant is not only one of the planet’s few remaining big tuskers, her tusks are actually symmetrical and touch at the tips – to my knowledge this is unique. The Tsavo Tusk Rangers found her taking shade from the midday sun in the heart of Tsavo East – a long drive for sure, but so long as she remained reachable, it was worth making the journey. We were a long way from base camp – maybe a four hour drive. This is a high impact portrait of a wonderful elephant in her last years. I will never see her again ~ David Yarrow
