Shawu

Story behind Elephant Gin bottles labelled Shawu: Named after the Shawu River, which runs through the area in the Kruger National Park, Shawu was a placid bull and seen regularly by staff and tourists alike.

Shawu became one of the original “Magnificent Seven” of the late 1970s (the elephant names that adorn our Elephant Strength Gin bottles) and is said to have been the most magnificent tusker in South Africa as he had the longest-ever recorded tusks from a Kruger elephant; left tusk at 317cms and right tusk 305cm. While long, the tusks curved inwards and crossed at the tips. They were also very slender and therefore not the heaviest to record; left tusk 52.7kgs, right tusk 50.8kgs.

Shawu died in 1982 of natural causes at the age of about 60 years. This outstanding elephant has been commemorated by the creation of a life-sized bronze statue, which now stands in the foyer of “The Palace of the Lost City” in the Pilanesberg, South Africa. His magnificent tusks are on display in the Elephant Museum in the Letaba Restcamp in the Kruger National Park.