KWS said the Sagala area where the deaths occurred on different dates is a hotspot for human-wildlife conflict
Image: FILE
Three elephants have died in Sagala area of Taita Taveta county, the Kenya Wildlife Service said on Friday. They died on different dates.
"All the deceased jumbos had their tusks intact, implying the deaths were not as a result of attempted poaching," KWS said in a statement.
The Sagala area is a human-wildlife conflict hotspot, and initial indications point to a possible case of retaliatory poisoning.
The suspects are yet to identified.
"Investigations are however underway to establish the actual cause of the deaths and to bring perpetrators to book," KWS said.
The agency appealed to the communities living adjacent to the parks and reserves not to take the law into their hands. They were urged to report any cases through toll-free number 0800597000.
In 2019, authorities announced that poaching had been reduced following the introduction of tough wildlife laws.
KWS director-general John Waweru said the country has also put in place various strategies that have seen poaching of wildlife sharply decline.
"The application of strong and deterrent prison sentences has worked well to reduce poaching in the country. Nonetheless, illegal trafficking of ivory, rhino horn, pangolin scales, among others, still persists through various sea and airports," Waweru said.
Thirty rhinos were poached in 2012. The figure was 59 in 2013 and 35 in 2014.
Only 11 were poached in 2015 and 10 in 2016. Comparative numbers for 2017 and 2018 were nine and four respectively.
The number of elephants killed in 2018 was 38.
A KWS report shows an 85 per cent reduction of rhino poaching in 2017 compared to 2013 when poaching was at its peak.
In 2012, 384 elephants were poached. The number reduced to 302 in 2013. The decline continued in 2014 to 164 and 96 in 2015.
Some 86 elephants were poached in 2016 and 80 in 2017.