Tough job of moving elephants to Tsavo

Three elephants that had been invading the farms of the locals were moved in an operation witnessed by Tourism CS Najib Balala [Mose Sammy, Standard]

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) yesterday moved three elephants from Solio Ranch to Tsavo East National Park in Taita Taveta County.

It took the combined efforts of KWS rangers, veterinarians and conservationists more than three hours to subdue the huge animals and load them onto lorries bound for Tsavo.

The relocation was meant to reduce incidents of human-wildlife conflict in the wake of increased complaints from farmers who have lost entire harvests to the roaming beasts.

There are plans to move 20 elephants from Mt Kenya region to other parks across the country.

“This is the best way to address the issue that has emerged here,” said Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala.

Translocation cost

The translocation exercise is expected to cost Sh4.5 million.

“Given the size of Tsavo, we don't expect that the animals will interfere with human settlement there. Tsavo can host 30,000 elephants but now has only 12,000,” said Mr Balala.

The CS attributed frequent elephants invasions of farms to blocked wildlife corridors between Mt Kenya and Aberdare National Park.

The translocation operation involved careful co-ordination between ground and aerial teams.

A fixed wing airplane flew over a herd of elephants, shepherding them onto an open field. From another aircraft, a ranger fired tranquilisers into the targeted jumbos.

Once the animals fell, the ground teams moved in to ensure that they were properly sedated and comfortable before more teams began the uphill task of loading the seven-tonne animals onto waiting lorries while ensuring they remained hydrated and did not suffocate.