Concerns are growing in Kenya after 15 elephants died near Amboseli National Park, with pesticides used on surrounding tomato farms being investigated as a possible cause.
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) reported that several elephants found dead between 24 June and 24 July showed signs of “partial paralysis”. Officials said the symptoms could be linked to poisoning from cyanide-containing pesticides.
However, conservationists who spoke to the BBC said pesticide poisoning may not explain the entire situation. Local tomato farmers have also questioned the theory.
“We have lived alongside this wildlife for decades and have never experienced anything like this,” Daniel Nina, who represents several landowners in the region, told the BBC.
“That is why we are asking why this is happening now.”
The tomato farms are located in Kimana, an important wildlife corridor linking Amboseli National Park with Tsavo National Park in southern Kenya.
The wider area forms part of the Amboseli ecosystem, which extends across the Kenya-Tanzania border. More than 2,000 elephants travel through the region in search of food and water.
Tomato farming has expanded in the area because of streams flowing from nearby Mount Kilimanjaro. The crops supply fresh produce to Nairobi and other markets across Kenya.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk