40 elephants displaced after Mau forest fire

40 elephants have been displaced from Mau Forest after a fire consumed about 150 hectares of bamboo on Tuesday evening.

Bosnia, Eor Nabayie and Osuiyani, are some of the areas in Mau Forest that were set ablaze by unknown people.

“The fire broke out at around 6pm Tuesday evening in Bosnia. Due to the dry spell, it quickly spread to the other two areas and destroyed about 15 square kilometers of vegetation,” said the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) Eco-system Conservator, Mwai Muraguri.

Intelligence has revealed that herders grazing their cattle in the forest might have started it. The fire is believed to be a ploy devised by the herders to increase pasture for their cattle.

“Some herders believe that when they burn the forest and smoke gathers in the skies, it will condense and form rain. This idea is retrogressive and should not be condoned,” said Muraguri.

This tragedy comes as the world commemorates the International Day of Forests with this year’s theme being ‘Forests and Education’. Countries are advised to organize activities involving forests and trees such as tree planting campaigns.