Kenyan officials are investigating the death of 15 elephants in Amboseli National Park over the past month, 10 of which showed partial paralysis before dying within two days.
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said 10 elephants showed signs of paralysis before death, while the remaining five were too decomposed or scavenged to determine cause of death. Most of the affected elephants were females and calves, with only one male among the dead. The incidents occurred in the Kimana Sanctuary and Kuku Ranch areas surrounding the national park.
Preliminary tests on samples from the elephants at the University of Nairobi laboratory found “potential toxins,” while separate analysis from a government laboratory detected no toxins in the tests. KWS said additional tests are underway. “Environmental investigations are also ongoing, including analysis of water sources and other potential environmental contaminants in the affected area, to determine whether the elephants may have been exposed to a common source,” the agency said in a statement.
Kenya has previously recorded cases of elephant poisoning linked to poaching and human-wildlife conflict. Authorities reassured the public that there is no evidence the condition could be transmitted to humans.
Amboseli is world-famous for its elephant herds and savannah landscapes, with views of Mount Kilimanjaro across the border in Tanzania. An estimated 2,000 elephants live in this national park.
