Pesticide Cyanide Kills 15 Elephants in Kenya, Exposing Farm-Wildlife Tensions

Fifteen elephants near Kenya's Amboseli National Park died between June 24 and July 24, 2026 from cyanide poisoning after eating pesticide-treated tomatoes from surrounding farms, KWS confirmed. Tissue samples matched a cyanide-based agricultural substance previously documented on local tomato crops by the Route to Food Initiative. The cause is not poaching but elephants' migration routes crossing chemical-intensive farmland.