The Prince of The Kruger’s Magnificent Seven also known as 'The Irritable One', was an unsociable character who avoided humans as far as possible, which was a good thing considering his tusks were long enough to scrape on the ground. His uniqueness was highlighted by a strange hole in his head, and Mafunyane’s perfectly symmetrical tusks were of epic proportions.

Age

The Prince of “The Magnificent Seven’ was named after Lou Steyn, who was a quick-tempered warden of the Kruger National Park from 1954 to 1961. Mafunyane was seldom seen as he disliked humans and preferred areas with little or no tourist activity.

Not only was his giant, symmetrical tusks a unique feature, Mafunyane had a large hole that penetrated through his skull into his nasal cavities. According to certain sources this hole allowed him, not only to breathe through, but also drink rainwater from. The exact cause of the injury is unknown but there are speculations that it may have been sustained in a fight with another large bull elephant.

Quick thinking, and a front-end loader, saved the huge pachyderm’s life when an immobilisation attempt in June of '83, went wrong because the massive tusks prevented the stricken animal from getting up. A front-end loader was used in the end to stop him from suffocating.

He was estimated at 56 when he died from natural causes on 16 November 1983. His remains were discovered a month later, northwest of Shingwedzi, near the Tar River.