Amboseli elephant deaths expose Kenya’s pesticide crisis, conservationists warn

A Kenyan conservation organisation has called for an independent investigation and urgent regulatory reform after 15 elephants died recently at Amboseli National Park from ingesting cyanide-laced pesticides sprayed on nearby tomato farms.

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) confirmed it has contained the situation but warned communities living around the park and neighbouring conservancies to exercise caution when using agricultural chemicals. KWS Director General, Prof Erustus Kanga, said laboratory analysis of carcass samples detected cyanide in the animals' digestive systems. 

Also read: The untold story in cyanide poisoning of 15 Amboseli elephants

Ten of the 15 elephants showed symptoms of partial paralysis before dying within one to two days. The majority were adult females and calves, the reproductive core of the population.

But Wildlife Direct warned that the deaths signal a far deeper crisis. CEO Paula Kahumbu said the incident points to systemic failure, not an isolated misfortune, especially as it follows the poisoning of six lions and 32 vultures in the same ecosystem in January 2026.

"If toxic chemicals are capable of entering crops consumed by elephants, we must ask whether farmers, farm workers, neighbouring communities, livestock and consumers are being adequately protected," Dr Kahumbu stated.

She warned that if cyanide-laced pesticides are contaminating crops at levels lethal to elephants, the same chemicals could be reaching local markets and consumers. People chronically exposed to pesticides face serious health consequences, including learning disabilities, hormonal disruption, immune suppression, miscarriages, growth impairment, and increased cancer risk. Kenya already faces a growing burden of cancers and other chronic diseases.

The conservation group has outlined five urgent actions it wants the government to take to prevent further deaths and protect public health.