The biggest elephant in Botswana has been killed after the country reversed its decision to ban hunting.
Photographs of the kill were posted on social media, sparking anger as one of the country's most incredible creatures was gunned down.
The elephant, in its early-50s, had been shot for its near 8-foot-long tusks, with the beaming killers posing alongside the slain beast, an image that sparked fury online.
The huge animal was known as a "big tusker" or a "hundred pounder" for its size and its massive tusks.
Former Botswana president Ian Khama imposed a trophy hunting ban across the country in 2014. But the ban was scrapped three years ago by successor Mokgweetsi Masisi to "manage human-wildlife conflicts".
Khama posted on his Facebook page say the nation has lost an "iconic attraction".
He fears for the future of Botswana and says tourism in the country will be shattered if the aggressive hunting is allowed to continue.
He posted: "This was one of the largest if not the largest tusker in the country. An elephant that tour operators constantly tried to show tourists as an iconic attraction. Now it is dead.
"How does it being dead benefit our declining tourism due to poor policies - our tourism is wildlife based.
"No wildlife means no tourism, no tourists no jobs, and no revenue stream. Incompetence and poor leadership have almost wiped out the rhino population, and now this!"
Botswana has some 130,000 elephants, the world's largest population.
The 2019 decision triggered an angry reaction from conservationists, who believe the move to be political.
President Masisi's decision was backed by theMinistry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism.
"The number and high levels of human-elephant conflict and the consequent impact on livelihoods was increasing," they said in a statement.
"Predators appear to have increased and were causing a lot of damage as they kill livestock in large numbers," it added, saying it would ensure that the "re-instatement of hunting is done in an orderly and ethical manner".
