4 arrested as Kenya investigates 18 elephant deaths in Amboseli

Preliminary laboratory ‌results point to the probable involvement of a toxic substance, the tourism and wildlife ministry says

Police have arrested four suspects in an investigation ⁠into the deaths ⁠of 18 elephants in Kenya’s Amboseli ⁠ecosystem, where authorities also seized assorted substances including chemicals, the tourism and wildlife ministry has said.

A Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) spokesperson told Reuters on Monday that the four had since been released on bail.

Preliminary laboratory ‌results pointed to the probable involvement of a toxic substance, the ministry said in a statement released on Saturday, with earlier indications suggesting cyanide poisoning due to the ingestion of pesticide-contaminated tomatoes from farms bordering Amboseli National Park.

Some wildlife experts have expressed doubt that farm pesticide was responsible for the deaths, ⁠citing the absence of reported deaths among other animals in the area.

The ministry said ‌investigators were also pursuing a fifth individual believed to have information relevant to the case. A search in Tikondo in Loitoktok ‌sub-county, about 220km (137 miles) southeast of Nairobi, led to the discovery ⁠of assorted substances, including ⁠chemicals believed to have come from a neighbouring country, the statement said.