This archive report was first published on 21 April 2020.
On April 21, 2020, a tragic incident occurred in Laikipia, Kenya, where eighteen vultures died after feeding on a suspected poisoned carcass of a camel. The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
According to KWS, preliminary investigations suggest that the carcass had been poisoned to trap a lion. The agency has taken samples from the vultures to the government chemist for analysis to confirm the cause of death.
The incident sheds light on the growing human-wildlife conflict in the area, where residents resort to poisoning wild animals to protect their crops and livestock. This has led to a rise in cases of wildlife poisoning, with massive deaths of vultures reported in areas such as Maasai Mara, Amboseli, and Laikipia.
Residents in Laikipia have been affected by human-wildlife conflict for years, with cases reported in 2018. In that year, two people were killed, a woman was injured, and crops worth millions of shillings were destroyed. The most affected areas were Marmanent in Laikipia West and places bordering Rumuruti forest and Laikipia Nature and Conservancy.
Local farmers, such as Jojas Ngure and Ann Giathaiga, have lost significant amounts of money due to crop destruction by wild animals. Ngure lost over Sh500,000 in under four months after elephants invaded his two-acre cabbage farm, while Giathaiga abandoned farming after her three-acre tomato farm was destroyed, resulting in a loss of Sh600,000.
Marmanet MCA Simon Kanyutu noted that the animals are from the nearby Rumuruti forest, highlighting the need for a solution to the human-wildlife conflict in the region.
