As stray elephant yesterday stormed Kasiber village in Baringo North subcounty killed a cow, injured another and destroyed crops.
The Kenya Wildlife Service said the animal may have escaped from the nearby Lake Bogoria conservancy in Baringo South.
“Efforts by our officers to pursue and recover the elephant since Monday have borne no fruit as it keeps disappearing into thick forests,” county deputy warden David Cheruiyot said.
Cheruiyot said the hilly terrains had delayed the recovery mission and appealed to the residents to stay calm as they worked to rein the animal.
“Our team is now engaging full gear to deal with the rogue animal,” he said.
On Monday, fear gripped residents after the beast was spotted roaming freely in Koreima, Kimalel and Kibingor villages in Baringo South.
“KWS officers came to investigate but they did nothing to arrest or even shoot and kill the rogue elephant” Kimalel resident Michael Ng’etich said.
Dickson Chesaro, whose cow was killed in the Tuesday morning incident said the elephant hit the animal with its heavy tusks, killing it on the spot.
It then trampled on and injured another cow belonging to a neighbour, Charles Komen.
It then destroyed a fence and destroyed maize and banana farms of several farmers among them James Chelimo, Jacob Chesaro, Reuben Cheraste, Issac Kiptai, Joshua Cheraste Samuel Kandie and Johana Kemei.
They said the KWS officers had since morning been chasing the elephant around without any success.
“This is historical, it has never happened in our village,” Chelimo said appealing to the government to compensate them for the loss.
Baringo North subcounty commissioner Bwobwocha Opwocha appealed to residents to stay away from the elephant.
“Some people are crowding and curiously moving closer to see the animal forgetting that it can also turn to kill,” Opwocha said.
He appealed to the affected people to report the matter immediately to KWS for any compensation processes to begin.
(edited by O. Owino)
