3 Rare Rothschild’s Giraffe Die Of Electrocution in Kenya

Bernard Ngugi, managing director and CEO of the Kenya Power and Lighting Company, said in a statement Monday that company officials "regret this incident because we recognize that wildlife forms an integral part of our natural and cultural psyche."

The Kenya Power and Lighting Company on Monday announced that three threatened giraffes were electrocuted to death after walking into low-lying electric power transmission lines at a local conservancy, according the ABC news report. The report further added that the deaths occurred at the Soysambu Conservancy in western Kenya. All three of the animals killed were Rothschild’s giraffes, one of the rarest giraffe subspecies.

The power and lighting company said Monday that it has begun “the process of enhancing the clearance of the electricity distribution infrastructure at Soysambu Conservancy” and also plans to work with the country’s wildlife service, the conservancy and other groups to audit the entire infrastructure of the approximately 48,000-acre conservation area “to make any other rectifications that may be required.”

Bernard Ngugi, managing director and CEO of the Kenya Power and Lighting Company, said in a statement Monday that company officials “regret this incident because we recognize that wildlife forms an integral part of our natural and cultural psyche.”

“Ensuring that we adhere to the highest forms of safety in all our undertakings, is a prerequisite for us,” Ngugi added. “We thus take any electricity-related accidents seriously and we will use the lessons gleaned to avoid a reoccurrence of the same.”

Kenyan conservationist Paula Kahumbu took to Twitter and condemned the deaths. Kahumbu tweeted that expert advice on the danger of power lines to animals was previously “ignored” and that the electricity lines have been killing giraffes, vultures and flamingoes.

Kahumbu also shared images of three lifeless giraffes that she said were the ones that were electrocuted Sunday, writing in a tweet, “These distressing photos of endangered Rothschilds giraffe killed on power line in Soysambu today have troubled people around t/ world. No delay. Pls take urgent action. Giraffes are endangered.”