By Renson Mnyamwezi

An elderly man was on Sunday trampled to death by a rogue elephant in Taita Taveta County.

Police and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) personnel said the deceased, who hails from Bungule village, Voi District, had gone to look for his lost calf in the bush when tragedy struck.

“The deceased might have come close to the elephant that was protecting its calf. He was attacked and killed on the spot,” said Tsavo East National Park senior warden Robert O’Brien.

Taita OCPD Nathaniel Aseneka said the body was taken to Voi District Hospital mortuary and investigations launched. Mr O’Brien said KWS has launched air and ground operations to drive the elephant to the park.

“We’ve put in measures to effectively deal with persistent human wildlife conflict in the region,” he added.

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The warden said apart from strategic deployment of the Problem Animal Management Unit (Pamu) in areas prone to wildlife attacks, KWS had started completing stalled electric fence projects and extending existing ones.

Taking advantage

O’Brien said Pamu had been deployed in Kasigau, Bura, Maktau, Kishushe, Jipe, Challa and Mwachabo locations to secure lives and property. He said elephants were taking advantage of the gap between Maktau and Ndii area to invade farms and destroy property.