Kenya poachers kill Satao, famed giant African elephant, for his tusks

One of Africa's largest elephants has died in Kenya after being shot by poachers using poisoned arrows, wildlife officials revealed yesterday as they mourned the loss of an "old friend".

The elephant known as Satao and famed for his giant tusks, was aged around 45. He was wounded in May in Kenya's vast southeastern Tsavo national park.

The Tsavo Trust, which works to protect the wilderness and its animals, announced the death "with great sadness" for one of the "most iconic and well-loved tuskers".

The death of Satao, the latest in a surge of the giants killed by poachers for their ivory, came a day after wildlife regulator Cites warned entire elephant populations were dying out in many African countries due to rampant poaching.

"It is with enormous regret that we confirm there is no doubt that Satao is dead, killed by an ivory poacher's poisoned arrow to feed the seemingly insatiable demand for ivory in far-off countries, a great life lost so that someone far away can have a trinket on their mantlepiece," the Tsavo Trust said.

Poachers had hacked off the elephant's face and stolen the tusks, but conservationists who had followed Satao for years identified the body from the ears and other signs. The carcass was found earlier this month.