Magnificent Seven elephants

[3] In 1980, park management decided to promote the seven elephants to showcase their conservation accomplishments.

A series of portraits were released by Paul Bosman[4] along with several articles from the Park's Senior Researcher, Anthony Hall-Martin.

Six of the elephant's tusks are exhibited there: Dzombo, Kambaku, Mafunyane, Ndlulamithi, Shawu en Shingwedzi.

He was usually found in that section of the park, most often in the Shawu Valley between the Tsendze, Letaba, and Shingwedzi Rivers.

The name Dzombo comes from the Tsonga word dzombolo which means "to wait for something approaching slowly."

[8] Kambaku is the Tsonga word for an old bull elephant, a token of great respect for the majestic animal.

He was shot near the crossing of the Crocodile River when he grazed on a nearby sugarcane plantation.

When he could no longer walk, he was euthanised by the ranger Lynn van Rooyen from the Lower Sabie rest camp.

He crossed a large territory between the Timbavati Game Reserve and the Crocodile Bridge Rest Camp, and usually spent the wet season up north.

His Tsonga name meant "the irritated one", based on his temper and impatience with people.

The origin of the gash is unknown, but it is believed to have been sustained during a fight with another bull whose tusk pierced the Mafunyane's skull.

His body was found near the Tari River, northwest of Shingwedzi, around 3 or 4 weeks after his death.

In Afrikaans, Sharu was known as "Groot Haaktand" ("Great Hook-Tusk"), in reference to his tusks' shape.

In his last days, his movements were monitored by radio band, and he was eventually found near the hill known as Kostinia, in the Shawu Valley.

[3] Shingwedzi is named for the river and rest camp by which he spent the last years of his life.