Amboseli elephant deaths: Kenya Wildlife Service launches urgent investigation after 14 bodies found

An urgent investigation has been launched into the mysterious deaths of 14 elephants near Amboseli National Park in southern Kenya.

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) told the BBC that tissue samples were sent to a laboratory for examination of the carcasses to determine whether they had died from disease, poisoning or other causes.

The park and its surroundings are known as the Amboseli Ecosystem, a vast area bordering Tanzania famous for its wildlife.

Officials say this is the first time elephant deaths have been recorded on such a scale to successfully control poaching.

KWS said there is currently no evidence to point to a cause of death.

The carcasses included elephants of different ages and sexes, suggesting that the deaths were not limited to one family or demographic.

The wildlife agency’s head of communications, Duncan Wanyama, told local media that the bodies were found in different locations around Amboseli National Park, 15km to 30km apart.

According to data from the Amboseli Trust for Elephants, which monitors animal movements, there were more than 2,000 elephants in the Amboseli ecosystem by 2025.