Rogue elephant of Aberdare Forest
Encyclopedia
The rogue elephant of Aberdare Forest was a bull
African Bush Elephant
which terrorized several villages in the vicinity of the Aberdare Range
in British East Africa in the early 20th century, destroying crops and killing at least one person. The bull was reportedly so cunning, that it never struck the same village twice. It was killed by J. A. Hunter
. The exact date of the event is not known, though it was published by HarperCollins
in 1952 as part of Hunter's Hunter memoirs.
with two Canadian
sportsmen. Being a friend of the village chief Ngiri, Hunter accepted to hunt down the elephant after being given permission by the Canadian sportsmen. With his Wakamba gunbearer Saseeta, Hunter set off for Ngiri’s village, where the chief told him that the elephant had been terrorizing his and neighbouring villages for months, destroying crops with impunity, leaving the people to hide in their huts for fear of attack. Together with Saseeta, Hunter found the body of the red cloaked native, completely crushed and with his limbs torn off. Ngiri told Hunter to wait another day before starting the hunt, stating that the elephant would doubtlessly strike again, thus giving Hunter a fresh track. A few hours before dawn, a runner from a village five miles away arrived breathless, saying that the bull had passed through his village that night and gorged itself on their crops. Following the trail, Hunter saw that it led to the deepest parts of the Aberdare Forest. Within, they found the elephant’s dung and a large impression left of its large body when resting. They soon found the elephant feeding on bamboo
. Aiming with his .475 Jeffrey #2, Hunter was unable to make the shot, as the elephant caught his scent and left.
was very poor, being only 40 pounds per tusk, with a good elephant usually holding three times that much. The base of the right tusk was found to have a musket
bullet lodged into its nerve centre. Hunter suspected that this was done by an Arab ivory hunter, and the pain of which was what drove the bull to act unusually aggressive.
Bull
Bull usually refers to an uncastrated adult male bovine.Bull may also refer to:-Entertainment:* Bull , an original show on the TNT Network* "Bull" , an episode of television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation...
African Bush Elephant
African Bush Elephant
The African Bush Elephant or African Savanna Elephant is the larger of the two species of African elephant. Both it and the African Forest Elephant have usually been classified as a single species, known simply as the African Elephant...
which terrorized several villages in the vicinity of the Aberdare Range
Aberdare Range
The Aberdare Range is a 160 km long mountain range of upland, north of Kenya's capital Nairobi with an average elevation of . It is located in west central Kenya, northeast of Naivasha and Gilgil and just south of the Equator...
in British East Africa in the early 20th century, destroying crops and killing at least one person. The bull was reportedly so cunning, that it never struck the same village twice. It was killed by J. A. Hunter
J. A. Hunter
John Alexander Hunter , born near Shearington, Dumfries-shire, Scotland, also known as J. A. Hunter was a white hunter in Africa from the early 1900s through the 1950s who led many notable safaris...
. The exact date of the event is not known, though it was published by HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
in 1952 as part of Hunter's Hunter memoirs.
First hunt for the elephant
The elephant first came to Hunter’s attention when the animal attacked two men in a nearby village one evening and killed one of them. It was thought that the man’s red cloak was what incited the elephant to chase him. Runners from the village found Hunter in the Aberdare forest hunting for bongoBongo (antelope)
The western or lowland bongo, Tragelaphus eurycerus eurycerus, is a herbivorous, mostly nocturnal forest ungulate and among the largest of the African forest antelope species....
with two Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
sportsmen. Being a friend of the village chief Ngiri, Hunter accepted to hunt down the elephant after being given permission by the Canadian sportsmen. With his Wakamba gunbearer Saseeta, Hunter set off for Ngiri’s village, where the chief told him that the elephant had been terrorizing his and neighbouring villages for months, destroying crops with impunity, leaving the people to hide in their huts for fear of attack. Together with Saseeta, Hunter found the body of the red cloaked native, completely crushed and with his limbs torn off. Ngiri told Hunter to wait another day before starting the hunt, stating that the elephant would doubtlessly strike again, thus giving Hunter a fresh track. A few hours before dawn, a runner from a village five miles away arrived breathless, saying that the bull had passed through his village that night and gorged itself on their crops. Following the trail, Hunter saw that it led to the deepest parts of the Aberdare Forest. Within, they found the elephant’s dung and a large impression left of its large body when resting. They soon found the elephant feeding on bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
. Aiming with his .475 Jeffrey #2, Hunter was unable to make the shot, as the elephant caught his scent and left.
Second hunt for the elephant
The next day, the elephant was seen in a village three miles from Hunter’s location, devastating a crop of Shamba trees. Upon arrival, Hunter and Saseeta were greeted by several runners who offered to guide them through the Aberdare Forest. Following a trail of crushed bamboo and upturned bracken roots, the party came across the elephant eating bamboo shoots. Upon getting their scent, the elephant immediately charged. Hunter quickly aimed the right barrel of the .475 Jeffrey #2 for the centre of the elephant’s skull and fired. The elephant fell, screaming loudly, being finished off by a shot to the back of the neck.Post-mortem
Upon examination, Hunter noted that the quality of the bull’s ivoryIvory
Ivory is a term for dentine, which constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals, when used as a material for art or manufacturing. Ivory has been important since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, dominoes, joint tubes, piano keys and...
was very poor, being only 40 pounds per tusk, with a good elephant usually holding three times that much. The base of the right tusk was found to have a musket
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
bullet lodged into its nerve centre. Hunter suspected that this was done by an Arab ivory hunter, and the pain of which was what drove the bull to act unusually aggressive.