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Nairobi – Four of seven elephants outfitted with GPS tracking collars have been killed on the forested slopes of Mount Kenya in recent months only a short hike from the rustic cabin where Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton, conservation officials said on Tuesday.
Save The Elephants fitted seven animals near Mount Kenya with collars over the last year to track their movements. More than half have been killed, and the group’s founder, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, said he’s worried about what may be happening to the elephants who aren’t collared.
"We’ve uncovered a poaching crisis near Mount Kenya that we didn’t know about before," he said.
Douglas-Hamilton said the mountain’s dense forest makes it difficult for rangers to patrol and protect elephants who have not been collared.
Save The Elephants official Lucy King said the group suspects the rise in poaching in northern Kenya is linked to a high demand for ivory in Asia.
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"We’re seeing a lot of Chinese nationals caught in the airport in Kenya with ivory in their luggage," she said. "We have to assume the Chinese are involved at some level."
Kenya has more than 30 000 elephants, so the deaths of four do not threaten its population.<\/p>\n