ENVIRONMENT : Litter Killing Kenyan Wildlife

Litter including condoms, batteries, broken glass and women’s underwear is threatening Kenya’s endangered species at a time when poaching is being curbed, the nation’s top wildlife official said in news reports published today.

Richard Leakey, director of the Kenya Wildlife Service and a world-famous anthropologist turned wildlife crusader, said animals are dying from eating garbage. He blamed tourists for throwing litter such as cans and bottle tops from buses but mainly game lodges in parks for not disposing of their waste properly.

An elephant called Emily died last year after eating litter, Leakey said in interviews with local newspapers. A post-mortem revealed garbage including broken glass and a battery in her intestines.

Baboons and monkeys are no longer eating traditional foods, he said, but staying by garbage areas of lodges.

To illustrate his point, Leakey broke up a heap of dried elephant dung which he found to contain a pair of women’s underwear, a condom, a milk container and a used battery among other items eaten.