Filmed in the Shingwedzi River Kruger National Park.
Origin of Name: The name ‘Hahlwa’ Tsonga meaning ‘twin’ was given to this bull due to the background and history towards his final identification. The tusks and the ear markings of this bull resemble almost identically those of Masasana and in many images would seem to be his twin.
Range: Northern KNP.
Special Features: This tusker has easily identifiable features although these can easily be confused with those of Masasana whose features are almost identical with the exception of a notch in the right ear. The right tusk of this bull is slightly longer and straighter then the left tusk which has a small curve at the tip. The tusks like Masasana are close together and from a side profile appear straight. The left ear has a w-shaped notch that has a piece skin hanging in the middle forming the ’w’ shape towards the middle of the ear very similar to Masasana, the right ear is the biggest differing identification mark between the bulls, a wide square notch is visible on the lower right lobe. An oval tennis ball sized growth as with Masasana is also visible on his left front leg close to the top but this is not always prominently seen in images. The thickening on the trunk closely resembles the thick line markings on Masasana although with a small variation in shape towards the centre of the trunk and top left close to the ivory lip.
General: This bull caused large confusion with his initial sightings in October 2015 by Kobie Naude and Tara-Lynn Svensson, primary due to the majority of the bulls identification markings being virtually identical to Masasana but as the bull was sighted in the far north an area considered unusual for Masasana who until recently had remained local to the more northern regions. Despite close scrutiny of all the identifying features by several experts’ confirmation of his identity could not be offered. The ‘new’ notch in the right ear left the questions was this Masasana extending his home range due to the dry conditions prevailing in the KNP in 2015/16 which was a distinct possibility as many known bulls had changed their ‘traditional’ movements due to water shortages? Did he pick up a new notch in the right ear which would not be unusual either? or did we have a new bull? A committed answer to these questions could not be made until confirmed sightings of Masasana were received as the bulls were just too similar. Fortunately the wait was not long and sightings of the ‘twin bull’ in late January 2016 by Jan Momberg in the far north and Masasana in the north in March 2016 by Matt Axel confirmed that there were two bulls. The sighting of Masasana was fortunately a good one which showed both ears clearly and confirmed that the right ear of Masasana was still without any prominent markings.
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