Kenyan authorities have arrested four people, including one Tanzanian national, in connection with the suspected poisoning of at least 18 elephants in the Amboseli ecosystem in southern Kenya. The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said the suspects were detained after preliminary laboratory tests, conducted at the University of Nairobi, found traces of cyanide in samples taken from the stomachs of the dead animals. The suspects have been released on bail while investigations continue, and authorities are still searching for a fifth individual believed to have relevant information.

The deaths, which affected mainly female adults and their calves, were recorded between 24 June and late July, initially in Amboseli National Park and surrounding protected areas, with the toll later rising to 18. Among the victims was an 11-year-old elephant named Genghis Khan, who was found paralysed on the ground struggling to breathe; veterinarians attempted to save him with a glucose injection, but he did not survive. Investigators are examining whether the elephants were exposed to cyanide through tomatoes sprayed with illegal pesticides on nearby farms, or whether the poisoning was the work of poachers known to use toxic substances to immobilise elephants. During searches in the Tikondo area of Kimana, authorities seized unlabelled chemicals believed to have originated from a neighbouring country, which have been secured for further testing.

Amboseli National Park, located near the Tanzanian border and internationally renowned for its large elephant population and as a major wildlife tourism destination, sits at the heart of a broader ecosystem that is home to more than 2,700 elephants. The Kimana area forms part of a corridor linking Amboseli to Tsavo National Park, through which elephants move freely in search of food and water. Pesticides prohibited in Kenya are sometimes smuggled across the porous border with Tanzania and used on farms within this zone, where weak enforcement of regulations governing agrochemicals has long been a concern.

The case has sharpened attention on the growing tension between wildlife and farming communities in the region. As agricultural land expands, elephants increasingly stray into villages and onto farmland, destroying crops — a conflict that experts say creates incentives for harmful and sometimes lethal responses. Kenya's government has warned that those found responsible for unlawfully killing or poisoning wildlife will face prosecution. The elephant population in Amboseli had been recovering in recent years after decades of decline driven by ivory poaching, making the current deaths a significant setback for conservation efforts. Authorities stressed that all preliminary findings must still be scientifically verified before definitive conclusions can be drawn.