Kenya: KWS Rangers Shoot Dead Stray Elephant in Samburu After It Killed Elderly Man.

Author(s)

Godfrey Oundoh, Daily Nation

Date Published

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) rangers on Thursday shot dead a stray elephant minutes after it had killed a man in Kirimon area in Samburu East.

The rangers with the help of residents engaged the stray jumbo before they cornered it and shot it dead.

The elderly man was heading home from a nearby market when he met the elephant that trampled over him, killing him instantly.

The rangers drove two other stray elephants back into the Kirimon Forest – a migration corridor for elephants in the area.

The rangers had a difficult time controlling a huge crowd that had arrived with weapons ready to feast on the elephant meat.

Locals now want KWS to establish a camp in the area to restrain the animals and curb the attacks.

“Elephants, hyenas and zebras are now getting into manyattas where people live and we are asking the wildlife authorities to get out of Maralal and Samburu if they are not ready to control the animals,” said John Letipila a resident.

The incident comes hardly a day after residents vowed to kill rogue elephants following increased cases of human-wildlife conflict in the area.

Led by Samburu Woman Representative Maison Leshoomo, the residents had said they will be forced to protect themselves after simultaneous attacks by the animals that have left one person dead and a 15-year-old girl seriously injured over the weekend.

The locals complained of laxity by local KWS officers in discharging their duties and responding to emergencies even after several complains were launched regarding rogue wildlife.

Residents are angered of a Monday evening attack in the area where a 45-year-old man was attacked and killed by elephants.

The elephant also left a 16-year -teenager with serious injuries.

The teenage girl who suffered serious abdomen injuries after the elephant pieced her with its tusk and also broke her ribs from the ordeal is currently admitted in Kijabe Mission Hospital after being referred there by specialists in Nakuru.

Ms Leshoomo said that the attacks have increased as the animals are finding their way into people’s homes.

 

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