Kenyans are mourning the death of a beloved “super tusker” elephant whose long life in the wild came to symbolize¹ the country’s increasingly successful efforts to protect the mammals from ivory poachers.

“Craig, the legendary² super tusker famed for its immense, ground-sweeping tusks³ and calm, dignified⁴ presence, passed on at the age of 54,” the statement said.

The Amboseli Trust for Elephants said Craig had died of natural causes. The conservation group said it was grateful to everyone who worked to help the animal “live out his life naturally.”

The term describes a bull elephant with tusks that weigh over 45 kilograms each. Tusks that size are so long that they scrape the ground as the elephant walks, according to the Tsavo Trust, a non-profit conservation group in Kenya. Females that grow long tusks are called iconic cows, the group says.

In Amboseli National Park, a protected area whose vegetation ranges from savannah woodland to open grasslands⁵ near the Tanzania border, Craig stood out as an attraction to tourists and a notable creature to conservationists working to protect elephants from poachers and other threats.