Dzombo

DZOMBO (To wait for something that is slow in coming)                            

                        AFRICAN TRACKS have send me on my Mission  to Travel South Africa                                 

Please do not keep me but keep me moving along my journey!

NEVER NEVER GIVE UP

ONE OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN    

Over thirty years ago seven impressive elephant bulls, all with tusks weighing more than 50 kg each, could be found in Kruger National Park.

The Chief Warden at the time, Dr U de V Pienaar, decided to publicise these elephants as a successful example of Kruger's conservation work. He named those bulls that had not already been identified and also coined the collective name, the Magnificent Seven, based on the 1960 Hollywood film.

DZOMBO (C.1935-1983)

Origin of Name: Named after the Dzombo stream that traverses the Mopani Flats between the Shingwedzi and Shawu valleys. (The word Dzombo is derived from the Tsonga word Dzombolo meaning ‘to wait for something that is slow in coming’)
Special Features: Dzombo’s tusks are the classic shape of the Kruger National Park Elephants, bowed and curved pointing forward and slightly upwards. They were also almost identically shaped in length, weight and thickness.
General: Dzombo was the only one of the “Magnificent Seven” to be killed by poachers and it was only by a stroke of luck that Dzombo’s two tusks were not taken. He died in a hail of bullets from an AK 47 fired by a poacher from Mozambique in October 1985. The miscreants were in the act of chopping out the tusks when they were disturbed by the approach of Ranger Ampie Espag and fled leaving their trophies behind. Dzombo met an untimely death at the age of 50 years.
(Dzombo’s tusks are on display in the Letaba Elephant Hall)

Tusk Data                                      Left                                    Right

Length (cm)                                    237cm (255cm)                237cm (237cm)

Mass (kg)                                       56.8kg (55,5kg)                56.8kg

Circumference at Lip (cm)           50cm                                   51cm

To read  further about the Magnificent Seven & other Great Tuskers of the Kruger National Park please visit: http://www.sanparks.co.za/parks/kruger/elephants/tuskers