Mystery elephant deaths in Kenya leave experts divided over cause
A mysterious ailment has killed at least 20 elephants in southern Kenya since June, alarming conservationists and local communities as experts struggle to determine the cause of the deaths.
The latest victim was an 11-year-old male known as Genghis Khan, who was found lying on the ground in the Kitenden B reserve near Amboseli National Park, unable to stand and struggling to breathe.
Veterinarians tried to revive him with a glucose injection – one of the few options available while the cause of the illness remains unknown – but he died on Tuesday after repeatedly trying and failing to get back on his feet.
The deaths have affected mostly females and young males, with the animals displaying strikingly similar symptoms, including weakness and partial paralysis.
The incidents are particularly sensitive in the Amboseli ecosystem, a major wildlife destination overlooked by Mount Kilimanjaro across the border in Tanzania. Its elephant herds are one of the region's biggest tourist attractions, making their unexplained deaths a concern both for conservationists and for communities whose livelihoods depend heavily on tourism.
“You would find one struggling for a day, struggling for two or even three days. Until they completely die,” said Patrick Papatiti, head of operations for the Olgulului communal lands, which include the Kitenden B reserve.
The growing number of carcasses has added to concern among conservationists.
At one site, the remains of a four-month-old calf lay partly eaten by hyenas and covered in flies. Elsewhere, vultures fed on the carcass of a pregnant elephant that had died close to giving birth, along with her unborn calf.
Conservationists in Kenya pay tribute to the late 'super tusker' Craig
Poisoning suspicions
In late July, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said toxicology tests had detected high concentrations of cyanide in the elephant carcasses, raising the possibility that the animals had been poisoned by pesticides linked to nearby farms.
But a number of local wildlife experts and conservationists have dismissed this theory.
Papatiti, who grew up in the local Maasai community, believes the elephants are suffering from a disease rather than poisoning. He said there was “no way” cyanide could explain the pattern of deaths.
One reason for the scepticism is the apparent absence of deaths among other animals who have come into contact with the carcasses.
Scavengers including hyenas, vultures and insects have continued feeding on the remains without showing obvious signs of poisoning – something local observers say would be unusual if high levels of toxic chemicals were responsible. The remains of an 11-year-old elephant named Genghis Khan in Amboseli National Park, Kenya, 18 August.
“If another animal feeds on that carcass and it is not dying, then definitely it is not a chemical,” said Joel Nyika, Amboseli ecosystem manager for the Kajiado County authorities.
Nyika also questioned suggestions that naturally occurring cyanide in vegetation could be responsible, arguing that if that were the case livestock grazing in the same areas would most likely also have been affected.
“As wildlife managers, we believe it could be a disease that is only affecting these elephants,” he said.
Paula Kahumbu, conservationist and head of Wildlife Direct, said there was still too little evidence to support the pesticide theory.
She also noted that relatively few adult males had died, despite the fact that they are the most likely to enter farmland and raid crops – behaviour that would theoretically expose them more to agricultural chemicals or deliberate poisoning.
Papatiti has also rejected the idea that farmers are intentionally poisoning elephants.
Hundreds of elephants die in Botswana in mysterious circumstances
However, the KWS said the evidence gathered so far does not point towards an infectious or transmissible disease. In a statement on 7 August, the wildlife authority said its findings had not indicated a contagious illness and sought to reassure visitors that travelling to the area remained safe.
Rather than looking for individuals to blame, Papatiti said, the priority should be establishing exactly what is causing the animals to fall ill.
He believes more elephants may have died without this being recorded and is concerned that similar cases could be occurring across the nearby border in Tanzania, part of the same wider ecosystem used by roaming herds.
“How many elephants will die before we can stop this?” he asked.
(with AFP)