By Charity Mukono
Communication specialist
The deaths of 15 elephants around Amboseli National Park captured national attention. But they were unlikely to be the only victims. Where farms and wildlife increasingly share the same landscape, toxic chemicals do not distinguish between elephants, antelopes, zebras, livestock or people.
When news broke, many Kenyans assumed the worst: poaching. Yet preliminary investigations by the Kenya Wildlife Service point in a different direction. Samples from the carcasses detected cyanide and investigators are examining whether the elephants consumed tomatoes from nearby farms that had been treated with toxic agricultural chemicals. One elephant's stomach, officials said, was found to contain tomatoes.
If those findings are confirmed, the deaths tell a story that reaches far beyond wildlife conservation. The elephants were not the intended target. And that should concern us even more.
