The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) announced on Monday that a fire which had destroyed large parts of the Tsavo National Park in Kenya’s southeast had been extinguished.
The fire broke out on Saturday along the Maktau-Taveta Road to the South of Murka, according to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT), one of the organisations which were part of the team fighting the fire.
The SWT said Saturday’s fire was only a few kilometres from another fire which had broken out a few days earlier.
“By 10.00pm last night, the interagency team had managed to contain the fire. However, strong winds in the area re-ignited it. This morning, the team successfully fought the fire at Murka area in Tsavo West National Park,” the KWS said in a statement.
Arsonists and herders are suspected to be behind the series of fires which have hit the park in the last few months. However, arsonists are suspected to be behind this latest incident and the KWS said police were pursuing leads.
The military, government agencies, non-governmental wildlife organisations and local volunteer groups all came together in an “immense” effort to put out the raging fire.
The KWS added that a team will be at the park on standby for the next 24 hours to monitor the area for any subsequent incident.
The Tsavo National Park forms the largest protected area in Kenya and is home to most of the larger mammals.
