NAIROBI
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has begun a taxidermy preservation of Craig, the famed Amboseli National Park elephant, who died earlier this month at the age of 54, local media reported Tuesday.
The wildlife service said the taxidermy process will preserve Craig’s skin and distinctive features to create a lifelike mount for education, scientific study, and public display, according to the local Capital News website.
“In recognition of Craig’s extraordinary ecological, scientific and cultural significance, we have initiated a professional taxidermy preservation process to ensure his legacy endures beyond his lifetime,” said Erustus Kanga, the director general of KWS.
He said preserving Craig would give future generations a “tangible connection to Kenya’s rich wildlife heritage.”
Born in 1972, Craig was one of Africa’s rare super tusker elephants, a class of elephants with tusks weighing about 100 pounds each.
Over his more than 50-year life in Kenya’s Amboseli National Park, he fathered numerous calves and became a globally recognized symbol of African wildlife and long-term conservation efforts.
