BY RAABIA HAWA, The Star

January 22, 2013 

A group of tourists on a game drive through Tsavo National Park came across a horror sight in the form of a fallen elephant. On a closer look, they discovered that the animal may have been a victim of poaching.

The elephants face had been hacked off and the trunk lay a few metres from the rest of the body. The group said the animal was about seven kilometres from a popular tourist camp. The carcass lay about 150 metres from the main road that joins the Buchuma gate.

These photos were taken by the tourists on Wednesday evening, with notable observations including no tyre tracks around the carcass. The tourists reported the matter to the Kenya Wildlife Service officers at Galdessa the following evening.

“All I can say is that it was amazing seeing so many elephants but I no longer feel happy watching them. Instead I find myself praying they will make it and I feel a deep sadness to the very core of my being. I hope to God we can stop the poaching before it is too late,”, said a tourist.

It was not immediately possible to confirm whether the elephant was a victiim of poaching or died of natural causes. However, the tusks were not intact.