A few weeks ago, whilst we were in camp we heard that a bull elephant had died about 1 km away. This big bull is a known individual, called Esidai, and has been studied for many years by the Save the Elephants researchers.
I used to see him often here in West Gate, hanging out with other big bulls. The bulls like this area; there is plenty of shade, food and water. When the bulls come into musth, they leave the area and head for the reserves, where they look for females to mate with.
Esidai fell on the river bank and died a few hours later. We went to see him, together with the researchers from Save the Elephants. The cause of death could not be established and to this date, we do not know what happened to him. There were no visible wounds on him. This is now the second elephant to have died in the area for unknown reasons.
Esidai’s death attracted a lot of interest from the local people
Researchers from Save the Elephants measure his tusks and take various samples
I have gone back a few times to see Esidai after his tusks were removed by the Kenya Wildlife Service. The hyenas have eaten a small part of him and dragged his trunk to the middle of the river. But he is pretty much still there, sloped on the river bank…
Esidai – A great loss to West Gate
These are tough times for the residents of Samburu. The local communities, their livestock and the wildlife are struggling now. The area is terribly dry and there is not much food remaining. The Ewaso Nyiro river has been dry for months now and elephants are digging into the dry river bed for water, helping the other animals too.
We are all hoping for rain soon. We did have a huge thunderstorm last night. I hope this is the beginning of the much awaited for and desperately needed rains…