Born Free responds to elephant deaths in Amboseli, Kenya

Since June, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and Born Free’s partner, the Amboseli Trust for Elephants (ATE), have been monitoring a cluster of elephant deaths within the Amboseli Landscape.

Post-mortem findings reported that the elephants all suffered from cyanide poisoning, which it has been suggested was from eating tomato crops that had been sprayed with pesticide.

The Amboseli Landscape is home to around 2,000 African savannah elephants. The landscape is a mosaic of open plains, seasonal wetlands, farms and human settlements where people, livestock and wildlife share space.

Born Free’s long term partner ATE has been studying the Amboseli elephant population since the 1970s. The population is one of the best known in the world and over the years has provided vital insights into elephant herd dynamics, communication and movement.

Since the end of June, reports of unusual elephant deaths prompted KWS and others, including ATE, to closely monitor the situation. The KWS and ATE teams were present at several of the incidents, reporting that the affected elephants exhibited paralysis and laboured breathing. KWS toxicological findings from post-mortem examinations indicate that the elephants ingested cyanide, and this has very sadly led to the deaths of 15 individuals recorded so far.

“The loss of 15 elephants within such a short period to human-related causes, rather than natural mortality, is both deeply disappointing and heartbreaking,” says Dr David Manoa, Born Free’s Head of Kenya Programmes. “Every elephant lost represents not only a tragedy for Kenya’s wildlife heritage but also a setback for conservation efforts. We look forward to learning more details from KWS and we hope that measures can be identified to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.”

Further investigations are ongoing into the poisoning and there is no evidence that there is a risk to human health. So far, all deaths have been confined to the elephant population and there have been no further reports of elephant deaths in at least seven days.

As investigations continue, Born Free remains committed to supporting efforts to safeguard elephants while promoting the long-term coexistence of people and wildlife across the Amboseli Landscape. Conservation success depends on thriving local communities and healthy wildlife populations, working side by side in a shared environment.