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. Najib Balala, secretary of the cabinet for tourism and wildlife, had previously authorized the parade of horns implanted with microchips as a gesture of transparency amid concerns about the sudden death of iconic mammals.
"There is a transport protocol I sent the Kenya Wildlife Service to post for verification by the media and members of the public," said Balala,
"Fortunately, all the horns have chips and transmitters and it is possible to check if they belong to the rhinos who died, "he added.
The death of nine black rhinos in a sanctuary in the vast Tsavo East National Park caused consternation in the conservation of local and world wildlife.
Up to now, only two of the eleven rhinos that have been transferred to the sanctuary have survived while a multi-agency team has been formed to establish the cause of their sudden death.
KWS scientists had earlier suggested that rhinos died as a result of severe dehydration after consuming drilling water that was too salty.
Balala ordered an interruption of the rhinoceros translocation that was being undertaken by KWS in partnership with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Linus Kariuki, coordinator of the KWS rhinoceros program, said that the use of micro- fleas to monitor the movement of giant terrestrial mammals like rhinos has strengthened their protection against the threat of poaching.
19659002] "By implanting a microchip on the rhinoceros horns, it is possible to track their movement and obtain critical details like bad and age," said Kariuki.
Kenya's rhinoceros population is currently estimated at 1,200 and faces threats from poaching, habitat loss and climate shocks.
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