{"id":7299,"date":"2026-01-03T11:48:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T11:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7299"},"modified":"2026-01-03T11:48:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T11:48:14","slug":"craig-the-beer-ambassador-elephant-dies-aged-54","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7299","title":{"rendered":"Craig the beer-ambassador elephant dies aged 54"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">A Kenyan elephant believed to have been one of Africa&#8217;s largest male tuskers has died of old age.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The pachyderm, fondly known as Craig, died of natural causes on Saturday morning at Amboseli National Park in southern Kenya, conservationists confirmed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;Craig had just turned 54 years old. He led a long life and no doubt fathered many calves,&#8221; said the Amboseli Trust for Elephants in its farewell message.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Famed for his long tusks, Craig the elephant was a major attraction at the park near the Tanzanian border. In 2021, he was named an ambassador for the popular Kenyan lager brand Tusker &#8211; a name also used for adult male elephants with tusks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The Kenya Wildlife Service described Craig as an &#8220;icon&#8221; of successful conservation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;Craig was one of the last remaining super tuskers in Africa &#8211; a rare class of bull elephants whose two tusks weigh over 45kg (100lb) each. Fewer than a handful remain today, making him a living monument to Africa&#8217;s natural heritage.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/KWSKenya\/status\/2007366473338032538\" class=\"sc-f9178328-0 iCaRzc\" rel=\"noopener\">The wildlife body also said &#8220;Craig was deeply loved for [his] remarkably calm nature&#8221;<\/a>, often &#8220;pausing patiently as visitors photographed and filmed him&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;Thanks to his many protectors, he died peacefully of natural causes.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">More than two million tourists visited Kenya last year, many of them seeking out wildlife in the country&#8217;s world-famous national parks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbcafrica.com\/media\/7762786525753\/tourism-investment-in-kenya-capitalising-on-emerging-opportunities\" class=\"sc-f9178328-0 iCaRzc\" rel=\"noopener\">Kenya&#8217;s tourism sector accounts for 10% of national GDP<\/a>, officials say.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Kenyan elephant believed to have been one of Africa&#8217;s largest male tuskers has died of old age. The pachyderm, fondly known as Craig, died of natural causes on Saturday&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[2548,8276,8275,348,7282],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Craig the beer-ambassador elephant dies aged 54 - Frisco Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The peace-loving pachyderm and lager promoter was an icon of successful conservation, say officials.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7299\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Craig the beer-ambassador elephant dies aged 54 - 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