How To Identify Dominant Bull, Sebakwe | The Biggest & Oldest Elephant in the Herd

Discover how to identify Sebakwe, the dominant bull!

With Father’s Day on Sunday our attention is on the Father of the Herd, Sebakwe, the powerful, yet tender, grand yet well-tempered biggest and oldest bull in the herd.

To FOSTER SEBAKWE (or another elephant) for Father’s Day and receive a special Father’s Day themed certificate, click here: https://herd.org.za/animal/sebakwe/#foster

What do you notice about him?

Sebakwe’s tusks are very large and thick - Males have bigger tusks than females to allow them to fight for defence or when there’s a challenge for dominance. Their tusks need to be big and strong enough to enable this.

Sebakwe’s tusks curve upwards. The tip of his right tusk broke off a few years ago, which left his right tusk blunt and shorter than his left tusk. Recently though, he broke off the tip of his left tusk too.

Sebakwe has very wide ears. There are a few small gaps and holes along the edges of his ears, but none are very prominent.

Named after a river in Zimbabwe, Sebakwe was born around 1985 and was part of the original herd rescued in 2002. As dominant bull, he is highly respected, even if young bulls like Mambo try their luck by sparring with him.

Sebakwe is the oldest, and therefore largest, elephant in the herd, and he has a bulky build.

Sebakwe has walked a long journey. Born in Zimbabwe, orphaned during culling programmes, and rescued during violent land reforms, he now lives, safe and protected, in South Africa. His story and well-tempered nature led to Amarula choosing him as the face of their bottles and marketing.

He is an ambassador for his species and fellow rescued or orphaned elephants. He has long tail hair, helping him to swat away flies or animals that get too close to him.

Sebakwe loves splashing about (with his trunk or a tree branch) in the dam, showcasing his impressive strength.

While being a grand and striking bull, he is also tender and very protective of the herd. Sebakwe was also the bull who stepped in to comfort and support orphan Kumbura during her rehabilitation and integration.

See if you can start to identify Sebakwe among the other elephants in our videos!

#fathersday

Видео How To Identify Dominant Bull, Sebakwe | The Biggest & Oldest Elephant in the Herd канала HERD Elephant Orphanage South Africa