A group of three elephants caught the attention of residents in areas including Rongai, Tuala and Kitengela after they escaped a community sanctuary on Sunday, May 17.
The elephants were said to have strayed away from a community sanctuary in Mosiro, finding themselves in the heavily populated areas in Kajiado North where citizens recorded amateur videos from a distance.
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) launched a hunt for the elephants, sharing a hotline for members of the public to share any information.
The agency even deployed a chopper to aid in the mission, with the elephants last seen making their way through a field surrounded by acacia trees and several houses.
The elephants are holed up in the acacia forest and our rangers are on sight monitoring the situation. Communities living around the area are asked to keep away. pic.twitter.com/Z4vF1mlk0A
— Kenya Wildlife Service (@KWSKenya) May 17, 2020
"Our team on the ground will soon be joined by another using a chopper to drive the jumbos back to their sanctuary.
"The elephants are holed up in the acacia forest and our rangers are on site monitoring the situation. Communities living around the area are asked to keep away," the KWS advised.
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Communications Director Paul Jinaro was unreachable as Kenyans.co.ke sought comment on the status of the operation.
In the amateur videos, residents could be heard excited as they watched the elephants from a distance, wondering how they had gotten away from the sanctuary.
Concerns have been raised in recent years over the impact of an increased urban population and human activity on the country's wildlife.
The Nairobi National Park (NNP), which is the world's only national park located within a capital city, has had its fair share of animals breaking out and venturing into highly populated areas.
Mega-infrastructure and real estate commercial projects including the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) have also seen the space available for animals to roam freely decrease.
Lions have, on multiple occasions, been pictured in various parts of the city with KWS rangers forced to intervene as panic spreads.
In 2016, for example, one lioness and her two cubs broke out of the park, crossed the main road and ventured into the densely populated Lang'ata and Kibra areas, sparking fear from a section of residents.
"Lions are dangerous wild animals. Don't confront them when you encounter them," Paul Udoto, then spokesman for the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), advised at the time.
