26/10/2026
Farewell, Fred.
Some elephants leave a particularly big impression, and Fred was certainly one of them.
I spent many hours in Fred’s company while working as a photographer in residence at Serian Original in the Mara North Conservancy. Monitored by the Mara Elephant Project, he was a familiar face across the conservancy and a much-loved sighting for visitors lucky enough to encounter him.
He was an incredibly patient elephant. Patient with the excited tourists who would gather to photograph him, and patient with me as I manoeuvred my little Suzuki into position, trying to find just the right angle.
But some of my favourite memories of Fred weren’t about getting photographs at all.
Whenever I had a spare moment, or simply needed some time to think, I’d often head out into the conservancy and somehow Fred would appear. I’d spend the entire morning or afternoon in his company, watching him go about his day. No particular agenda, no rush, just time spent with a magnificent old elephant.
His passing is a big loss for the Mara North Conservancy, and for everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.
But what a life he lived. To reach his senior years with those magnificent tusks intact is quite something, and a testament to the work being done to protect these extraordinary animals.
