The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) veterinary and capture team has completed a seven-day translocation of bull elephants from the Solio Ranch Conservancy to the Tsavo West National Park.
The all-male group had moved into Solio, which supports one of Kenya’s highest rhino populations. KWS said bachelor bulls can be unpredictable, particularly during musth, and their prolonged presence in a high-value rhino sanctuary posed a risk to habitat integrity, infrastructure and the wellbeing of wildlife and neighbouring communities.
KWS linked the situation to infrastructure development that has blocked the wildlife migratory corridor between the Mount Kenya and the Aberdare ecosystems, disrupting natural movement patterns and forcing displaced bull elephants into areas such as Solio. Habitat fragmentation has increased competition for space and resources, raising the likelihood of human-wildlife conflict.
The translocation forms part of KWS’s 2024–2028 Strategic Plan, which prioritises mitigating and managing human–wildlife conflict through timely, science-based interventions. KWS said the move aims to protect Solio’s rhino conservation gains while supporting landscape-level wildlife management.
Take a look at images of the translocation initiative below:
