Unknown illness killing elephants causes concern in Kenya
Conservationists are demanding an investigation into an unknown illness killing elephants in southern Kenya, Africanews via AP reported on August 14th.
Since June 2026, at least 19 elephants have died from the illness with symptoms ranging from exhaustion to partial paralysis.
The most recent death was of an 11 year old male elephant called Genghis Khan. He was found struggling to breath yet vets could do little to save him.
The Kenya Wildlife Service has conducted preliminary toxicology reports which showed some elephants had a high concentration of cyanide in their systems.
This caused suspicion to fall on farmers and pesticide poisoning, but specialists believe otherwise.
Patrick Papatiti, head of operations for Olgulului communal lands, said the carcasses have been fed on by hyenas and vultures, which have shown no signs of poisoning.
Joel Nyika, the Amboseli ecosystem manager for Kajiado County argued that if the cause was chemical poisoning from farmers’ pesticide then other animals feeding on the elephants’ carcasses would have been affected.
According to Paptiti, authorities “have no idea” of the cause of the illness.
In a statement released on August 7th, the Kenya Wildlife Service revealed that their data did not indicate an infectious or transmissible disease.
Farmers are similarly concerned about the increased elephant deaths. Noah Saatia, chairman of the Kimana community and a farmer said “the government needs to investigate” as the elephants are viewed as an asset for residents. In many villages, a large element of the local economy relies on elephants and tourism.
On the Kimana reserve, six elephant carcasses were found. Among them was a young calf and a pregnant female with her unborn calf.
There is also fear amongst local communities that livestock could later be affected by the illness.
Olgulului’s head of operations clarified that the main goal should be discovering the cause of the illness before it kills more elephants.
Africanews via AP, Maghrebi.org
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