In Pictures

In pictures: An elephantine task in Kenya

Safely moving “rogue” elephants who have roamed onto farmland is heavy lifting for the Kenya Wildlife Service.

Kenyan Wildlife Service officers rush to a male elephant that has just been sedated by a tranquiliser gun on the edge of the Ol Pejeta conservancy in central Kenya on June 21.

Nairobi, Kenya – The Ol Pejeta conservancy in central Kenya is home to some 300 elephants at any one time, and is linked to the broader Laikipia and Samburu ecosystem by wildlife corridors. A census by the Kenya Wildlife Service in November 2012 estimated a population of around 6,800 elephants across the three districts.

At the edge of the conservancy, several “rogue” elephants have broken fences and roamed onto farmland, damaging crops. In order to decongest the elephant population here, nine males were moved from Ol Pejeta to the larger Kora National Reserve, protecting the elephants and easing the human-wildlife conflict.

The elephants had been tracked for weeks, and, on June 21, the final two bulls were located by helicopter and subsequently tranquilised with a dart. Officers from the Kenya Wildlife Service raced in, supported by staff from the conservancy, and rapidly loaded the sedated elephants onto a truck. They were then driven to a large container and transported to Kora.

Speed is of the essence when moving elephants. Because elephants are so heavy, spending too much time lying on one side can crush the animal’s internal organs. Accordingly, once the elephant was safely in the container used to transport it during the drive to the Kora reserve, it was injected with an antidote to the tranquilliser and rapidly regained consciousness.

The male elephant was sedated with a tranquiliser gun fired from a helicopter.

The team then "stabilised" the elephant, keeping its airway open by holding the trunk up.

Officers prepared the sedated elephant to travel on a truck by wrapping straps around its legs.

An officer binds the legs of a sedated male elephant as it is being prepared for translocation.

The sedated elephant is raised onto a truck before being moved.

A male elephant is lowered onto a truck by the Kenyan Wildlife Service to be moved to transportation containers in the park.

An officer holds up the trunk of a sedated male elephant as it is loaded on to a truck.

After being loaded onto the truck, the elephant is moved to the transportation containers.

Officers cool off the sedated elephant with water while it is loaded onto the truck.

The elephant is then lifted again and loaded onto a transportation container.

The team then lowers the elephant into a transport container.

Officers give the sedated male elephant a final push as they load him onto a container.

The trunk of an elephant emerges from the top of the transport container. It is given an "antidote" to the tranquiliser, bringing him back to consciousness.