I'd read on this board that the World's Record Elephant Tusks currently resided at the Natural History Museum in London England.

Had a chance to drop by and see them in person today. Took a couple pictures I thought I'd share. Apologies in advance for the poor quality of the cell phone camera.

It's hard from this picture to appreciate how astonishingly large they really are. They are placed at least six feet back from the display cases. For size reference, the little girl was about 3.5 feet tall. The tusks nearly touched the ground, and extended all the way up the roughly the same height as the tops of the shoulders of the elephants on either side of them.

That's impressive. Did you get the vital stats, length and weight?

Are you sure they are the ~225 lb. tusks? They look too small!

The heaviest pair on record weigh in at 102kg and 107kg.

While the Natural History Museum has them, in the past they were held in storage and not put on display. But this is dated information.

No, those are the world record tusks.

The digital camera/phone snapshot doesn't do them justice. Somewhat like taking a photo of an African sunset. If you've photographed one yourself and compared it to your experience being there, you know the former doesn't nearly do justice to the latter.

The second photo was an attempt to share with the board the specs on the placard. The left one was 226 lbs, the right one 214 lbs. Here's a link to a photo of the same tusks right before they mounted them upright:

London Museum of Natural History World Record African Elephant Tusks

Perhaps, if I'm feeling brave, I'll venture back tomorrow and take another picture with me next to them. I imagine the curators will frown on such "American" antics. But it might clear up the perspective problem.

But first.....Anyone on the board volunteering to bail me out of jail when the Bobbies come for me? Saeed?.....How's your legal staff in London these days?

StuntPilot,

Out of curiousity, in the second picture, on the information displayed between the tusks, it says "the Trophy Hunters" with what looks like a picture of an elephant that was shot by poachers and had the tusks hacked out. Can you fill me in on what it says about the "Trophy Hunters," it seems like they should change the name to "Trophy Poachers."

Will, yes they are the ones I saw them last year..When I visited my son living in London...
Without a person standing next to them the size is hard to judge...

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by Sevens:
StuntPilot,

Out of curiousity, in the second picture, on the information displayed between the tusks, it says "the Trophy Hunters" with what looks like a picture of an elephant that was shot by poachers and had the tusks hacked out. Can you fill me in on what it says about the "Trophy Hunters," it seems like they should change the name to "Trophy Poachers."

It's hard to tell from my cell phone picture, but the second display photo is actually a large pile of confiscated elephant tusks that are being burned. If memory serves, the text for the section goes on to the effect that elephant populations have lost the older elephants that used to produce the largest tusks to poachers and sport hunters.

No mention of the benefits stemming from recycling of the fees the latter pay.

No surprise.

quote:

No mention of the benefits stemming from recycling of the fees the latter pay.

Go figure. That would be counter productive to what the general public wants to hear.

Where the phrase, "long in the tooth" comes from.