15 Elephants Die Near Amboseli as Kenya Probes Cyanide Traces From Tomato Farms
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Aug 4
15 Elephants Die Near Amboseli as Kenya Probes Cyanide Traces From Tomato Farms
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Aug 4
Summary
Fifteen elephants died near Amboseli between June 24 and July 24, with Kenya Wildlife Service saying some showed partial paralysis and stomach samples contained cyanide traces.
KWS's working theory is that pesticides sprayed on nearby tomato farms in Kimana exposed the animals to the toxin, possibly unintentionally, though officials say deliberate poisoning is still not ruled out.
A 2024 Route to Food report found a Kimana farmer using an insecticide with a cyanide compound, and its author said illegal agrochemicals can be smuggled across the Tanzania border amid weak enforcement.
Conservationists and local landowners say the pesticide explanation is incomplete, noting only one dead elephant was an adult male and other crop-raiding species such as zebras and antelopes were not affected.
More than 2,000 elephants move through the Amboseli ecosystem corridor, where expanding farms and lodges have intensified human-wildlife conflict and left both wildlife and nearby communities facing continued risk.