More than 200 elephants died between February and October in Kenya, an east African country facing rainfall deficits, the tourism minister said Friday.
Kenya is a major tourist destination on the African continent thanks to its wildlife. But it is suffering a drought of unprecedented intensity, hunger affects no less than 4 million people on a population of 50 million people. 23 of the country's 47 counties are affected according to the authorities.
Insufficient rainfall during the four seasons has created the driest conditions since the early 1980s.
"The drought has resulted in significant wildlife mortality, mainly in herbivorous species (...) due to depletion of food resources as well as water shortages"
According to the Minister of Tourism, Mr. Malonza, fourteen species are particularly affected by the drought. Between February and October 2022, 205 elephants, 512 wildebeest, 381 zebras, 12 giraffes and 51 buffalo died due to the drought. According to data from the Ministry of Tourism published in 2021, Kenya has over 36,000 elephants. To cope with the drought, the authorities have set up "hay supplies for the affected species".
At the end of September, the NGO Save the Elephant announced the death of a famous elephant in the Samburu reserve, an arid area in northern Kenya.
Monsoon ("Monsoon" in English), a female in her sixties and mother of seven calves, had survived poachers five times. The elephant was euthanized at the end of September, with the NGO Save the Elephant stating that the elephant's poor health was due to her age, but that it had been "aggravated by the drought.
Rivers and wells have dried up, pastures have turned to dust, causing the death of more than one and a half million head of cattle in Kenya alone.