Four suspects have been arrested by police investigating the deaths of 18 elephants in Kenya's Amboseli ecosystem, where officials also seized various materials including chemicals, the tourism and wildlife ministry said. A spokesperson for the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said on Monday that the four individuals have since been released on bail. Early laboratory test results indicate the probable involvement of a toxic substance, the ministry stated on Saturday, following earlier suggestions of cyanide poisoning linked to eating pesticide-contaminated tomatoes from farms bordering Amboseli National Park.
However, a number of wildlife experts have questioned whether farm pesticides were to blame, noting that no deaths have been reported among other animal species in the area. Authorities are also searching for a fifth person believed to possess relevant information. A search conducted in Tikondo, within Loitoktok sub-county around 220 km (137 miles) south-east of Nairobi, uncovered a range of substances, including chemicals thought to have come from a neighbouring country, the statement added.
The ministry said the arrests and recovered substances did not in themselves establish criminal culpability and added that investigations were ongoing. The first 15 elephant deaths were recorded between June 24 and July 24, the ministry said. In July, KWS said the deaths occurred in Amboseli National Park, Kimana Sanctuary and the Kuku Ranch area, and that the animals showed symptoms including partial paralysis before dying within one or two days.
The broader Amboseli ecosystem spans the national park and surrounding community land in southern Kenya near the Tanzanian border, providing habitat and movement routes for elephants and other wildlife beneath Mount Kilimanjaro. The area has a history of human-wildlife conflict, with elephants roaming beyond protected areas into community and agricultural land, trampling crops and angering farmers. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
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