The Race for Ivory is on
PRESS RELEASE
Elephant expert Dr Iain Douglas-Hamilton and his team sound the alarm
on highest elephant poaching in Samburu in 14 years
(Nairobi, Kenya) – On Tuesday, July 12th, gunshots were heard near Samburu National Reserve. A few hours later, the KWS rangers who responded immediately to the warning, found a dead elephant. The carcass was that of Khadija, the last mature female elephant from the Swahili Ladies family in Samburu. Khadija leaves behind eight orphans, a story that is becoming way too familiar in northern Kenya. Ironically, Khadija had been treated two weeks earlier for bullet wounds and had survived the attack. This time, she died as she hobbled near the river, with four fresh bullets in her body. By midnight, under the full moon, her tusks had been cut out and the collar she was wearing had been destroyed and buried in the sand.