The tusk of one of the Kruger National Park’s oldest elephants, Duke, who died last month, seems set to break environmental records.
The elephant’s left tusk was the longest ever measured in the KNP, Beeld reported on Tuesday.
It was 3.21m long, while the right tusk was 2.93m long.
Together, the tusks weighed 140.5kg.
“We are waiting for official confirmation, but it seems like this tusk is the longest ever measured [in the park],” park spokesperson William Mabasa told the Afrikaans daily.
Until Friday, when Duke’s tusks were measured, the record holder was Shawu, whose left tusk measured 3.17m.
Duke, who was more than 55 years old, died last month. His body was found near the Crocodile Bridge Camp in the first week of October.
At the time of his death, he had already lost both his tusks.
One of his tusks broke off in August 2007, but it was found in the veld, while the second broke off a year later, but was also tracked down and stored by environmental officials. — Sapa