One of Africa's largest female Tuskers, Dida, dies at Tsavo National Park

Dida is said to have died of natural causes after living a full life until she was 60 to 65 years old.

"We are saddened by the death of Dida who was possibly Africa’s largest female Tusker and a Matriarch residing in @KWSTsavoEast  National Park," Tweeted KWS.

She was remembered as "an iconic matriarch of Tsavo and a great repository of many decades worth of knowledge."

Elephant herds are led by matriarchs who teach survival skills to the younger elephants. They are in charge of guiding their herds to water sources in the wild and pasture-rich areas.

This is critical because subsequent generations will always remember routes to the aforesaid areas, even after the matriarch has died.

"She shepherded her herd through many seasons and challenging times. She served as both the subject to various documentaries and an iconic tourist attraction," said KWS.

Dida appeared to have died some time ago, as her body had been stripped down to the bone by the time she was discovered.

Tsavo, split between Tsavo East National Park and Tsavo West National Park, is home to about 13,000 elephants. They make up about 40% of Kenya’s entire elephant population.