Presentation of the tail ceremony.

At one time, the old ivory hunters kept track of the number of elephant they had hunted, by collecting the tails and looking for that number of elephant later.

Cutting along the backbone.

Cutting around the foot pad.

Starting the cutting of the hide into four panels.

Helpers join in. Many hands make the work of skinning go quicker and the sooner the meat can be had!

Removing the ear.

Local villagers waiting patiently for their turn. The ear lies on the ground.

Some hunters tan the ear into a map of Africa.

Skinning the head.

Removing the trunk.

This elephant had a diseased trunk. About a third of the trunk had been "amputated" by a poachers snare. The end of the trunk had subsequently partially "healed" over, leaving only a small hole for the cow elephant to breathe through and drink through. We could hear her wheezing in the bush. The trunk was also diseased inside and filled with pus.