Lead image for Amboseli elephant poisoning: Death toll rises to 18 as two farmers arrested .
A multi-agency team comprising Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) rangers, Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers and National Intelligence Service (NIS) officers has arrested two farmers suspected of involvement in the poisoning of elephants within the Amboseli ecosystem between June 24 and July 26 in Kajiado County.
According to KWS Senior Assistant Director in charge of the Southern Conservancy, Mr Paul Wambi, the death toll has risen from the initial 16 elephants.
"The death toll has risen to 18 so far. One more elephant is under close supervision of our (KWS) vets. Our (KWS) vets are moving in earnest to ensure the numbers don't rise further," Mr Wambi told the Nation on Friday.
Earlier, during World Ranger Day celebrations at Tsavo West National Park on Friday, July 31, KWS Director-General Prof Erustus Kanga said preliminary laboratory analysis of samples collected from the carcasses had detected traces of cyanide in their digestive systems.
Also Read: The untold story in cyanide poisoning of 15 Amboseli elephants
Prof Kanga said, according to post-mortem examination reports by KWS veterinarians, the animals had ingested pesticides sprayed on nearby tomato farms within Amboseli National Park, Kimana Sanctuary and the Kuku Group Ranch area, where the deaths occurred.
On July 30, KWS requested the Pest Control Products Board (PCPB) to establish and lead a multi-agency technical team to examine and investigate whether pest-control products or other crop-protection chemicals may have been improperly used, stored or disposed of in Kimana, Kuku, Kitenden and the wider Amboseli ecosystem, and whether water, soil or forage may have been contaminated.
KWS has also been examining whether giant star grass (Cynodon plectostachyus), a cyanogenic species, could have contributed to the exposure, although it has not released the report.