13 elephants to be flown for 7,000Kms from Kent to Kenya

Tourism CS Najib Balala (centre) witnesses the naming of elephants at the Amboseli National Park. [Peterson Githaiga, Standard]

Kenya will receive 13 elephants from a zoo in Kent, the United Kingdom. The herd that will be flown 7,000km in a Boeing 777 will be released to the wilderness at Mwaluganje Community Wildlife Conservancy, which is part of the Shimba Hills ecosystem.

If achieved, this will be the first of its kind project in the world, according to wildlife conservation experts. The animals were raised at the Howletts Wild Animal Park in Kent, UK.