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As I awoke today and went to check my AdSense account as is my habit, I noticed a Google Doodle. I was astounded to see today’s doodle, which featured Ahmed the Elephant. This image depicts elephants and tourists. I got nostalgic thinking about the legendary story and the cartoon I saw.
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Who was Ahmed, the elephant?
Ahmed was an elephant born in the Kenyan forests of Mount Marsabit in 1919. Nobody knows much about the childhood of Ahmed. However it came into public after discovered by some hikers in the mountains of North Kenya in 1960s. It gained popularity because of its large tusks and developed a reputation as The King of Marsabit.
According to the hikers, Ahmed’s tusks were so large that they scraped the ground, distinguishing it from other elephants.
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Stories about “The King of Marsabit” began to circulate throughout Kenya which drew media attention as well. Ahmed became the subject of several television projects in 1970s, including an ABC series and a documentary. With the rise of pop culture, schoolchildren began to campaign for Ahmed’s protection from poachers. The students wrote letters to Kenya’s first President, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, pleading for its protection. President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta passed a decree for keeping Ahmed in the custody of the Kenyan government.
Two security guards assigned the duty to keep an eye on the elephant throughout the day in order to protect it from poachers. Ahmed died naturally at the age of 55. Following its death, Kenya celebrated the elephant’s legacy. President Kenyatta urged taxidermists to make plans to preserve Ahmed’s body for future generations at the Nairobi National Museum. They meticulously preserved the body and put it on display.
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This doodle touches the boundaries of Kenya, Iceland, Uruguay, Chile, Pakistan, France, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, along with other countries.
Preview Picture: Google
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