Shawu is famous for having the largest tusks ever in The Kruger National Park, and when he died at the age of 60, his left tusk reached a length of more than 3 metres. The pincer-shape of his enormous tusks earned him his Afrikaans nickname, 'Groot Haaktand'

Age

One of the legendary elephants that formed part of “The Magnificent Seven”, Shamwu had the sixth longest tusks of any elephant ever recorded in Africa, and the longest in The Kruger National Park’s history. A life-sized bronze statue of Shawu guards the entrance to the Palace of the Lost City in the Pilanesberg as a commemoration to this colossus.

Perhaps because of his colossal stature, Shawu did not shy away from people or vehicles, in fact the giant animal was known to have a friendly and agreeable personality. Standing 3,4 metres tall at the shoulders, the unique shape of the bull elephant’s tusk had Afrikaans speaking visitors refer to him as ‘Groot Haaktand’, or ‘Large Hooked Tusk’, for our English speaking readers.

During his last days, a radio tracking collar was fitted to track him when he fell ill in 1981. This was to keep him safe from poachers, but unfortunately he died a year later at the age of about 60 years old. In October, 1982, his remains were found near a hill in the Shawu Valley.