Gilgil man gored to death by buffalo

Buffalo herd PHOTO:STANDARD

An elderly man looking for pasture for his livestock was gored to death by a buffalo in Eburru, Gilgil constituency.

James Kimani was cutting grass near Eburru Forest when the lone buffalo attacked him. Area residents have vowed to avenge his death, claiming that the number of wildlife attacks in the area were on the rise.

They attributed this to the current drought that had pushed the animals to the farms in search of pasture.

 "We have lost a couple of men in this area to wildlife attacks and despite our cries to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) nothing has been done," said a resident.

He said despite Kimani's screams, the public could only watch helpless from a distance as the buffalo attacked him. A senior KWS officer who declined to be named admitted that cases of wild animals straying into farms and estates in Gilgil and Naivasha were on the rise.

The officer said it is difficult to contain the animals as most of them are in game ranches that border farms.

"The current drought has taken its toll on the animals, pushing them from their havens to nearby farms in search of pasture and water," said the officer.