Wildlife authorities said on Monday Kenyan game rangers had shot dead three people suspected of killing five elephants in two separate incidents over the past week.
“Three suspected poachers have been killed, four firearms recovered and five elephants killed in two separate incidents in Isiolo and Tsavo in the last week,” the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said in a statement.
One poacher was killed overnight in what KWS described as a “fierce exchange of fire” on the edge of Meru National Park in central Kenya.
The statement said a vast operation was under way to track down other suspects who may have been injured in the fight.
The statement alleged the suspects had shot dead an elephant in Isiolo and were in the process of hacking off the tusks using axes when the KWS rangers ambushed them.
Two other poachers, who were among a group responsible for the deaths of the four elephants in the Tsavo region, were killed during a shootout on Tuesday.
One suspect was arrested but three others managed to escape.
More than 200 elephants died as a result of poaching last year in Kenya, while tons of ivory have already been seized this year. Most of the tusks are thought to be smuggled towards East Asia where the ivory is used in medicines and ornaments. — Sapa-AFP