Kenya’s electricity distributor Kenya Power has finally responded following the death of three more giraffes by electrocution in the Soysambu Conservancy in Nakuru.
The endangered Rothschild giraffes were electrocuted over the weekend; two males died Friday morning whereas the third one was electrocuted on Sunday due to the low hanging power lines.
According to the Conservancy, this is not the first time an endangered species has been electrocuted. On August 27th, 2018, another male, Argos, was killed by a power line becoming the sixth endangered giraffe to be electrocuted in the past 10 years.
“Now a total of 11 giraffes have been killed on these lines. There had been an attempt some time back to have the line moved or lifted but there was no support of the idea,” said conservationist Kerry Outram.
Soysambu hosts a population of approximately 124 giraffes. Kenya is home to about 29,000 giraffes: Somali giraffe (15,524), Rothschild’s giraffe (609), and the Maasai giraffe (12,717).
Following an uproar from social media users over the death of the gentle giants, Kenya Power on Monday dispatched its engineers to Soysambu to adjust the height of electricity poles.
“We regret this incident because we recognize that wildlife forms an integral part of our natural and cultural psyche and, we appreciate the feedback shared by various stakeholders on this matter,” said Bernard Ngugi, Kenya Power Managing Director and CEO.
In a statement, the power supplier noted that Tourism CS Naib Balala is also engaging the Energy CS Charles Keter on the same for a lasting solution.
“We have commenced the process of enhancing the clearance of the electricity distribution infrastructure at Soysambu so as to forestall a recurrence of the unfortunate incident,” the company said.
“Kenya Power is undertaking this exercise in partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service(KWS), Soysambu management and other stakeholders which will also involve an audit of the entire infrastructure within the conservancy to make any other rectifications that may be required.”
Kenya Power also mentioned that the audit exercise will be extended to other wildlife sanctuaries across the country to ensure electricity lines do not pose a danger to animals.
