Tusk trouble in Tsavo: Vets free Kenya elephant after freak trunk impalement

Field teams say the position left the animal struggling to feed, drink, and even breathe comfortably, turning what might sound like a freak accident into a fast-moving medical risk in the wild.

A rare and alarming wildlife emergency unfolded in Kenya’s Tsavo when a large bull elephant ended up with its own tusk lodged through its trunk, effectively pinning the trunk in place and making basic functions difficult. Field teams say the position left the animal struggling to feed, drink, and even breathe comfortably, turning what might sound like a freak accident into a fast-moving medical risk in the wild.

According to the account shared by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, the bull appears to have been probing his left nostril with his right tusk when he lost his balance. In that moment, the tusk punctured the trunk and became trapped, creating a fixed, painful “hooked” position that the elephant could not correct on his own. The team estimated he had been stuck like this for at least three days before help arrived.

The response was led by the SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Vet Unit, part of a partnership between the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and the Kenya Wildlife Service that handles veterinary interventions across the region. After locating the bull, vets darted and sedated him so they could work safely at close quarters. They then dislodged the trapped trunk from the right tusk, repositioned the elephant for treatment, cleaned the puncture thoroughly, and administered medication to reduce infection risk and support healing.

Vets described the wound as serious but treatable. Their expectation is that, with time, it will scar over and the bull will make a full recovery, assuming no secondary complications develop. In injuries like this, the immediate danger is often less the puncture itself and more what follows: dehydration, starvation and infection if the animal cannot use its trunk normally for extended periods.

Elephants injure themselves in many ways, but this precise mechanism, trunk impaled and immobilised by the elephant’s own tusk, is highly unusual. The incident also underlines why mobile veterinary units matter in vast landscapes like Tsavo, where a single report from the field can mean the difference between a survivable injury and a fatal one.