Kenyan wildlife authorities are investigating whether exposure to a toxic substance caused the deaths of 15 elephants in the wider Amboseli ecosystem over a one-month period.
The elephants died between June 24 and July 24 in Amboseli National Park, Kimana Sanctuary and the Kuku Ranch area, the Kenya Wildlife Service said in a statement issued late Tuesday.
Preliminary laboratory analysis by the University of Nairobi detected a possible toxic substance in samples taken from several of the animals. Further testing is required to determine its concentration, significance and source.
Ten of the elephants displayed similar symptoms, including partial paralysis that left them unable to stand. They died within one or two days after the symptoms appeared, according to the wildlife agency.
Most of the animals affected were adult females and calves. Only one adult male was among the dead.
Officials were unable to establish the cause of death for five elephants because their carcasses were severely decomposed or had been partially consumed by scavengers.
Initial tests conducted by Kenya’s government chemist did not detect the toxins included in the first round of screening. Additional analysis is now under way to identify other possible toxic substances.
Authorities are also examining local water sources and other environmental factors to determine whether the elephants may have been exposed to a shared source of contamination.
The Amboseli ecosystem covers the national park and surrounding community lands in southern Kenya near the Tanzanian border. The area, located beneath Mount Kilimanjaro, provides important habitat and migration routes for elephants and other wildlife.
The Kenya Wildlife Service said there was no evidence that the incident posed a threat to humans or involved a condition that could spread from elephants to people.
“There is no evidence that this incident poses any risk to human health,” the agency said, adding that the condition appeared to be confined to the affected elephants.