Martha Washington, a celebrated elephant, dies in Samburu

Martha Washington, a celebrated, long-standing matriarch of a group of elephants called First Ladies in the Samburu National Park, has died.

Martha, who was in her 50s, died on Saturday, according to the research and protection organisation Save the Elephants.

Scientists from the organisation said the elephant died of old age but noted her condition may have deteriorated during the drought that gripped Samburu County.

"We are very sad to report that Martha Washington, the long-standing matriarch of the First Ladies, has died. Martha was one of the oldest matriarchs within the group of elephants that we study in northern Kenya," Save the Elephant announced on Sunday.

"It is likely Martha died of old age but her condition may have deteriorated during the drought that has gripped the region."

The body of the old jumbo was found west of the wildlife reserve by members of Save the Elephant's Long Term Monitoring team on Saturday. 

According to a statement from the organization, which has been tracking the movements of Martha since her teenage years, she was the mother of four daughters and two sons and a grandmother.

Her daughters – the youngest is eight – are still with the First Ladies. Save the Elephants, which has tracked and monitored elephants in Samburu for the last 20 years, bestows names on elephants to help identify individuals and their families and to better understand their behaviour and intelligence. 

The organisation also tracks long-distance elephant movement through the use of sophisticated tracking technology and applies this important scientific behavioural data to the challenges of elephant survival.

According to the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad (SPANA), wild elephants live between 50–60 years, depending on their living conditions and diet.

Just like humans, elephants can die young due to natural causes. They can also die due to human-related activity such as poaching.

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