RIP Craig

Born Free 1972, Died Protected January 2026

Craig and his acolyte ©kathykarn

My heart sank as I read the note from a friend in Kenya. Super Tusker Craig, age 54, took his last breath early in the night of Jan. 3rd. Craig was an icon, an ambassador for his species, who touched my heart and the hearts of millions of people around the world. He was a gentle giant, with massive tusks that swept the ground. It’s hard to find the words to describe the impact of being with him. Every time I visited Amboseli he showed up. He felt like a friend, I am forever changed by knowing him. I’ve written several posts about Craig over the years, including one last month that described his declining health due to poor digestion. He was clearly struggling.

I first met Craig in 2020 when I traveled to Southern Kenya after the death of my mother. I dreamed of seeing Amboseli’s unique and famous Big Tuskers. To my amazement renowned Super Tusker Tim, Craig and three of their big buddies were resting in the shade of an acacia tree barely 10 minutes from the landing strip. My extraordinary encounter with hundreds of elephants on the Amboseli Plain over the next three days changed my life. The elephants gave me a gift I will never forget; they cracked me open and healed my bereaved heart.

I next returned to Amboseli during the devastating drought of 2022. The land was bare, it hadn’t rained for 22 months. Craig showed up outside of camp, thin and dusty but alive. Here’s a link to my story When Thorns and Twigs are on the Menu. It includes a video clip of Craig softening a thorny acacia branch under his foot then sharing it with one of the young bulls who followed him like a young acolyte.

Craig softening acacia branches ©kathykarn

Craig radiated calm, tolerance and kindness. I will miss him a lot on my next visit to Amboseli. I am grateful I had the privilege of meeting him. Gone but never forgotten.

Big Tusker Craig ©kathykarn

Huge gratitude for the local Maasai and the rangers of Big Life and The Kenya Wildlife Service who cared for and protected Craig during his lifetime. Read the news release from The Big Life Foundation below. If you’d like to support the protection of elephants and conservation work in Amboseli please consider making a donation to Big Life Foundation .

Photo credit Big Life Foundation

We have sad news to start the year. Craig, Amboseli’s largest tusker, has died of suspected natural causes at 54 years old.

Some of you may have seen rumors of his death last November. Although untrue, it was clear that he was having digestive issues that were very serious for an elephant of his advanced age.

He recovered, but we knew we likely had limited time left with him. Yesterday, he was in trouble again, collapsing intermittently, then standing and moving short distances. Big Life’s rangers stayed with him through the night but at 03:32 AM, he lay down and didn’t get up again. Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done.

Poorly chewed material in his dung showed that he was not grinding his food properly, which is evidence of worn-down teeth. Elephants get six sets of molars through their lives, and once their final set starts to wear, their lifespan is limited. We are waiting for post-mortem details, but this is very likely what led to Craig’s death.

Craig was an icon. He was extremely calm around people and likely one of the most photographed elephants in all of Africa. He lived peacefully alongside the communities that he shared space with. Elephants with tusks as big as his have becoming increasingly rare, targeted by poachers and trophy hunters, and Craig was one of the largest of those remaining.

Craig was a huge presence in Amboseli and will be sorely missed. But he lived a long life and died a natural death, and no creature – human or elephant – could ask for much more.