At least 19 elephants — and possibly more — have died since June in the Amboseli ecosystem of southern Kenya, a wildlife-rich region near Mount Kilimanjaro and the Tanzanian border. The deaths, which have affected mostly females and young males, have left conservationists, local communities, and wildlife authorities struggling to identify the cause. The toll may already be higher: the head of operations for the Olgulullah communal lands, Patrick Papatiti, says the number has now reached 20.

The symptoms have followed a distressing pattern. Affected elephants show difficulty walking and breathing, restlessness, and partial paralysis before eventually becoming unable to stand. One recent victim, an 11-year-old male known as Genghis Khan, was found exhausted and struggling to breathe; veterinarians could do little beyond administering a glucose injection. AFP journalists on the ground observed six carcasses in the nearby Kimana reserve, including those of a young calf and a pregnant female whose unborn calf also perished.

Preliminary toxicology tests conducted by the Kenya Wildlife Service detected high concentrations of cyanide in some carcasses, raising the possibility of pesticide contamination from farmland bordering the ecosystem. However, that theory has drawn significant scepticism. Local wildlife manager Joel Nyika and conservationist Paula Kahumbu are among those questioning the findings, pointing out that hyenas, vultures, and even flies have fed on the carcasses without any apparent ill effects. Papatiti, who has been at the centre of the response, put it plainly: