Elephant departs but roams in spirit with researchers

Early October marked the end of the road for one of North Kenya's largest tuskers, a celebrated African savanna elephant named Matt. But the road continues for researchers.

Measuring 10 feet (3.05 meters) tall at the shoulder and weighing more than 6 tons, Matt died from natural causes, aged 52, said Save the Elephants, a British-registered charity based in Kenya. The elephant's body was found by an anti-poaching unit on Oct 7.

While Matt will roam no more, he has left researchers with a wealth of knowledge about elephants' behavior. He had been fitted with a GPS tracking collar in 2002 by Save the Elephants. This was done in order to make it easier for researchers to monitor the elephant's behavior as well as to help rangers protect him from poachers.