Kenyan game rangers kill three elephant poachers

Kenyan game rangers have shot dead three men suspected of killing five elephants in two separate incidents over the past week, wildlife authorities said Monday.

Ellroy Serrao

"Three suspected poachers have been killed, four firearms recovered and five elephants killed in two separate incidents in Isiolo and Tsavo in the last one 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 shoot-out.

"The suspects had shot dead an elephant [...] and were in the process of hacking off the tusks using axes when the KWS rangers ambushed them," the statement said.

Two other poachers among a group responsible for the deaths of four other elephants in the Tsavo region were killed during a shoot-out last Tuesday.

One suspect was arrested and three others escaped.