Mystery illness kills more than a dozen elephants in Kenya
At least 19 elephants, mostly females and young animals, have died in Kenya since late June from an unidentified illness. Authorities have not yet determined the cause.
An unexplained illness has killed at least 19 elephants in Kenya since the end of June, with the majority of the dead animals being females or young elephants.
All of the affected elephants displayed similar symptoms before dying, most notably partial paralysis that left them unable to stand. This shared symptom has been identified as the common thread linking the cases.
The cause of the illness, and how it may be spreading among the animals, remains unknown at this time. The relatively high number of deaths occurring within a short period has raised concern about the potential impact on Kenya's elephant population.
Elephants are a significant part of Kenya's wildlife and a major draw for the country's tourism sector, meaning a die-off of this scale is drawing attention both locally and internationally.
