Tuskers of Kruger Discussions & Identification

[Lisbeth]

Hi Andreas

The one from Mopani is quite something

[Richprins]

Andreas!

[pas-64]

This is the result of our trip to Kruger in October:
Kumba - the bull of last year who broke his left tusk ...
and
Gudazani - who seems to be very old and close to his end (has broken tip of his left tusk) - we had more than 20 Minutes alone with him ...

[Richprins]

Great sightings, pas!

[Lisbeth]

[Richprins]

Progress on the Duke statue, by Elize Parker:


Tribute installation to Duke, the super tusker, in its final rounds


A 13-year dream to honour the legacy of a super tusker he had a close bond with, will with the help of so many other roleplayers come true for a beloved and well-known regional ranger of the Kruger National Park.
19 hours ago
Elize Parker



An artist's impression of the exhibition for super tusker Duke that will be constructed at Crocodile Bridge in the Kruger National Park. Photo: Supplied

An installation and statue dedicated to the legacy of the legendary Kruger National Park super tusker Duke can now become a key destination in the park at Crocodile Bridge.

This is all thanks to a 13-year-old dream of regional ranger, Neels van Wyk and a team of avid Duke fans.

When you meet Van Wyk, you immediately recognise how much respect and esteem he has for Duke, one of the few super tuskers of the park.

Van Wyk’s dream is to honour Duke’s legacy with a reconstruction of his skeleton and mounting this reconstruction as an exhibition in the park.

Now thanks to a resolution passed by the park’s management team and the tireless work of Van Wyk, Stop Poaching Endangered African Rhino, artist Dawie Fourie and other role players, this dream will come true.

Duke, named after Thom Duke, a ranger in the early twentieth century in Lower Sabie, provoked comments early on in his life when it was realised that he might be an emerging super tusker.
Such elephants have the DNA to develop extra long tusks weighing 45kg each.

Duke’s tusks each respectively weighed more than 70kg, with his left tusk from the skull measuring 144cm and his right tusk measuring 133cm.

Duke was such a rock star in the world of wildlife he even had his own Facebook page where you could post photographs taken of Duke while in the park.

Van Wyk first saw the elephant in 1995 when he was based at Lower Sabie doing his practical year towards a diploma in Nature Conservation.

“I saw Duke one afternoon on the red grass plains next to Muntshe Hill at Loskop windmill. It was an amazing sighting and I watched him drinking from the cement reservoir. He had to lift and tilt his head sideways resting on the dam wall to support his enormous tusks,” he said.

“I watched him for over an hour around the drinking hole. Little did I know that day that we would have some very special times and adventures in the years to come,” said Van Wyk.

Many Duke fans saw him in the Crocodile Bridge section of the park, or when he occasionally ventured into the adjacent Lower Sabie and Tshokwane sections.

At the age of about 55, Duke passed away in October 2011.



Super tusker Duke. Photo: Neels van Wyk
But the day of his death had a run-up, and this is where Van Wyk comes in.

Although both his tusks broke off on separate occasions, they were not lost, largely due to the efforts of the teams of Van Wyk and fellow section ranger, Steven Whitfield.

It was on Van Wyk’s suggestion that John Turner, chairman of the Honorary Ranger’s Counter-Poaching and Ranger Support Services Unit, raised the necessary funds for the collar itself and collaring operation.

On the day of the operation, the tusker had an audience. Onlookers saw him wanting to outrun the helicopter but the dart struck.

They watched him run back and forth. Eventually, he sagged to the ground. The entire collaring operation took about 30 minutes, which made Dr Markus Hofmeyr, head of SANParks veterinary services, a happy man.

Van Wyk found a few moments of comfort in his wife’s embrace for an emotional celebration after the elephant was collared and went on his way again because his father had passed away two years previously to the day.

“He was very fond of Duke and the fact that we found both tusks after they broke off… I knew he would have loved to be part of the collaring process,” said Van Wyk.
Monitoring Duke became a pleasure for Van Wyk. One day, after a short absence of a few days from the park, he noticed that the radio signal was no longer signalling and went to investigate.

“I received a call from Johan Marais on October 4, 2011, wanting to come and have a look at Duke. I had a look at Duke’s position and saw that his last position was along the Makambeni spruit west of the S28 tourist road. I got worried when I saw that there was no update since 22:21 on October 1,” he explained.

On a gut feeling, he took the motorbike and drove along the Makambeni Spruit.

“My gut feeling became reality when I caught the smell of a carcass and around some spike thorn trees, I came upon Duke’s carcass. A sad but comfortable feeling came over me. The Duke saga was concluded. He died a natural death towards the end of his lifetime. He was not poached or suffered any disease or injury,” said Van Wyk.

The carcass was raised by Van Wyk and his team with a crane and relocated to an empty cement reservoir.

This strategic ingenious plan became the basis of later reconstructing Duke’s skeleton and skull with replicas of his teeth in place at the gate at Crocodile Bridge.

Duke’s soft tissues were burned off by sun and wind, and then the more than 200 bones two years later found their way to a storage room near Van Wyk’s house.


Neels van Wyk and Petros Mdaka with one of Duke’s tusks that broke off. Photo: Supplied
A plan could now be put into action.

Under the leadership of Glenn Phillips, former executive manager of the Kruger National Park, the park developed a new paradigm years ago, to exist symbiotically with the park’s neighbours rather than in isolation.

For this purpose, the park divided the game park area into zones and developed private-public partnerships. One such partnership’s management shared Van Wyk’s dream.

The area south of Skukuza, also known as the Intensive Protection Zone, is one of seven such areas and is served from outside the park by the park’s contract parties the honorary rangers, as well as SPEAR and Nkomzi Integrated Group (NIG).

SPEAR is the acronym for the non-profit organisation Stop Poaching Endangered African Rhino and together with NIG, they are responsible for favourable cross-border relations between the park and communities.

The local Voortrekker movement, one of the community partners of SPEAR, was engaged to help with the reconstruction.

Van Wyk’s dream was now beginning to come true. The bones, which have been stored for nine years, could now be put together like a puzzle.



Neels van Wyk and Steven Whitfield with one of Duke’s tusks. Photo: Supplied
The dream was also realised with the help of everyone who has a heart for this cause and is prepared to play a role.

Local businesses including Jock Safari Lodge, BUCO, Fine and Country, and people such as Henk Grobler and professional volunteers, including an architect and engineer donated resources, skills and support.

During the pandemic, the Voortrekker members from their commando area Oosterlijn rolled a wagon wheel over 400km for a fundraiser and donated money to the Duke Reconstruction Project.

Komatipoort Voortrekkers have since cleaned and varnished all of Duke’s bones and built the frame for mounting the skeleton.

Jan Engelbrecht, CEO of SPEAR, praised the invaluable contribution of the Marloth Park iconic elephant painting, painter Dawie Fourie.

“Dawie’s encyclopedic knowledge of elephants and also specifically of Duke, and his knowledge of elephants, are indispensable. He was involved with the Duke Reconstruction Project from the start along with Neels. Dawie has already made plaster casts of the tooth pieces,” said Engelbrecht.

A design of how the Duke statue should be mounted and presented, after consultation with Van Wyk and the camp manager of the Crocodile Bridge area, Stephan Nel, in an appropriate kiosk at the gate, was prepared by architect Arma Steyn.
These plans were presented to the management of the Kruger National Park in October and were approved.

Ike Phaahla, spokesperson for the Kruger National Park, said the exhibition will enhance the visitor’s experience.

“Visitors can get to know about one of the legendary tuskers to roam those areas.”

The project’s next phase is now being undertaken so that the skeleton can be assembled and exhibited.

– Do you also want to be part of this dream and give shape to something big, something beautiful, with the Kruger National Park as the key driver? There is room for everyone to get involved in various projects.
Also with the Duke Reconstruction Project.

The non-profit organisation SPEAR depends on donations. The construction and maintenance of the Duke reconstruction is only a starting block for significant support for the dream where the Kruger National Park not only houses treasures, but develops legacies.

– Contact Jan Engelbrecht for possible involvement on 082 784 5682 or jan@spearnpo.co.za or Abel Luger for community development in the South at abel@spearnpo.co.za.

https://www.citizen.co.za/rekord/news-h ... lSTsJgc72Q

[Lisbeth]

My initial thought was: "It's not possible that SANParks is paying for a thing like this". After reading a bit further, I understood that SANParks only had to permit the exposure of the artwork without spending a penny.

Reading who has been involved, the picture is quite clear. Luckily there are still people who are not only interested in filling their pockets.

RP