The elephant that killed a man in Emotoroki, Kajiado, on Friday was provoked, the Kenya Wildlife Service has said.
Kajiado KWS boss Vincent Ongwae said yesterday they will not kill the elephant, as has been the norm with offending wild animals.
“Our investigations have revealed the man, who at the time was armed with two spears, invaded elephants that were grazing peacefully in Emotoroki and injured one,” he said.
Ongwae said that after the elephant was injured, it charged at the man and seriously wounded him. The man was rushed to Kajiado County Referral Hospital but succumbed to his injuries.
Lenana Peneti is the latest victim of jumbo attacks in the Emotoroki area of Kajiado whose plains border the Amboseli National Park. Most likely, his family will not be compensated given the nature of the incident.
Residents held protests, demanding the removal of the jumbos from their grazing fields. But Ongwae pleaded with them not to attack the jumbos, adding that if provoked they can be “very dangerous”.
“Those jumbos are not rabbits you can chase around and even play with. Sadly, we have lost a young man, but this is also a warning to others out there that it is highly risky to wage war on the elephants,” he said.
He said all their stations are fully operational round the clock, and rangers are on standby and ready to help people in distress whenever there is a human-wildlife conflict.
