The Cheymen Tea Estate of the Ekatera Tea Company was overcome with shock and grief on Thursday after a woman was killed by four rabid elephants.
The woman was on her way to work at the estate when she unintentionally ran into the four elephants, according to a representative of the provincial administration who went on the record under the condition of anonymity.
He said that it was believed that the elephants had left the Mau forest and were now invading nearby farms and settlements.
The administrator claimed that although the woman tried to hide within the tea bushes, the animals tracked her down and trampled her, killing her instantly.
Only three weeks prior, a few kilometers away in the Sambret region, another woman had been slain by elephants.
Angry villagers resisted, saying they had reported the issue but that KWS personnel had not taken action, and police and Kenya Wildlife Service officers who responded to residents’ distress calls had to use force to recover the body.
Later, the body was removed and brought to the mortuary of the Kericho referral hospital.
KWS officers warned locals to be cautious and avoid any encounters with animals that have wandered outside the forest in search of food as a result of the ongoing dry spell, especially those who live close to the forest.
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