eight dead rhinos after being changed from park

Eight black rhinos, a critically endangered subspecies, have died after being moved to a new reserve in southern Kenya, the Kenyan government announced on Friday. Tourism and Wildlife Minister Najib Balala has ordered the Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS) to "immediately suspend ongoing transfers of black rhinos after the deaths of eight of them," his services said. in a statement. KWS has not officially commented on the death of these rhinoceros.

Very rare deaths These eight dead animals were part of a group of eleven black rhinos that had been moved in June from national parks in Nairobi and Nakuru to that of Tsavo East. The move to a new habitat for endangered animals, which must be asleep while traveling, is not without risks. But the death of animals during this type of operation is rare. Between 2005 and 2017, 149 rhinos were moved to Kenya in this way and only eight died, according to the Ministry of Tourism.

"Preliminary research" suggests that the eight black rhinos could have died of "poisoning" salt ", after drinking in their new environment a different water from the one they were accustomed to, said the ministry. A full investigation has been ordered and its results should be known next week. "A disciplinary sanction will certainly be taken if the findings point to negligence or unprofessional conduct by KWS members," the ministry added.

Associations ask for explanations. Paula Kahumbu, the director of Wildlife Direct, an animal welfare organization, called on the authorities to take responsibility and explain what had happened. "Rhinoceros are dead, we have to say it openly when it happens and not a week or a month later," she said. "Something did not work and we want to know what." According to Save the Rhinos, there are fewer than 5,500 black rhinos in the world, all living in Africa. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) estimates that Kenya is home to 750.