Todd posted something on the long range elephant hunting thread. He suggested that you were just as likely to see a unicorn as a 100 pound elephant. Is that true? Are all the big tuskers gone, even in Botswana and Tanzania?

Dave-

There are still a few around, but they are extremely few and far between. Most likely place to find one would be in one of the national parks, in which case they would be well known to staff.

100 pounders are old elephants. Due to the rampant ivory poaching of the 70's & 80's, leading up to the ivory ban, most of the old and middle-aged Ele were killed for their ivory. You can't have old elephants if the younger ones have been killed off.

I am hopeful that in another 40-50 years the number of old Ele carrying large ivory will increase. Of course I won't be here to see them but I do hope my grandson will have the opportunity to hunt one.

It would nice if a trophy management elephant area could be set up to let them get to at least 80 pounds or so before they could be harvested. However, I imagine keeping elephants in a single area would be quite a task.

You are correct. Almost, if not an impossibility.

And remember that age alone is not a guarantee of large ivory. Genetics, food and environment all play a role as well. And the size of the nerve will directly impact the ivory weight regardless of girth or length.

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Bush:
Todd posted something on the long range elephant hunting thread. He suggested that you were just as likely to see a unicorn as a 100 pound elephant. Is that true? Are all the big tuskers gone, even in Botswana and Tanzania?

And just to be clear Dave, that was a WINGED UNICORN!!

Now Todd, you know it was a WHITE, winged Unicorn. Accuracy on AR is a virtue, after all.

They recently shot a 93 lb. elephant in Zim. It was in the Gwaay or Gonarezhou as I recall..

An elephant expert, retired from Kruger Park, told me there will always be big elephants as the elephants get up to about 60 or so pounds and growth slows down adn they get fat an happy, then during their last years they get a huge growth spurt as all their food nutrician goes to the tusks in old age just before they die and the body slowy gets emaciated. That is why they keep showing up from time to time in areas where nobody has ever seen them before in the area.

Makes since to me???

Saw a T.V. special last week, show that 38,000 tuskers had been poached over the past 5 years alone. Lots of them has huge tusks. What a waste and what a shame.