A giant bird that flew over 10,000 kilometres from Europe met its end when it was electrocuted while flying in Kenya.
The migratory bird identified as a white stork was found dead at Kapkoi Moi's bridge in Kitale when it hit power lines in the area.
According to eyewitnesses, the bird was part of a flock of about 200 when it was involved in the accident that occurred on Tuesday, March 22.
"The extent of damage on the wings and its neck due to electrocution is severe. The feathers have also been severely burnt in the process," an eyewitness Richard Mwenja stated.
The white stork is a large bird with long red legs and pointed beaks, and measures on average 100 -115 cm from beak tip to end of the tail, with an even longer wingspan of between 155 and 215 cm.
It is a long-distance migrant, wintering in Africa from tropical Sub-Saharan Africa to as far south as South Africa, or on the Indian subcontinent.
The bird was found with a collar on its leg belonging to the Ornithological Station of the Museum and Institute of Zoology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Gdańsk, Poland.
It weas tagged '74P01'.The institution is a scientific centre researching the biology of birds.
Currently, apart from administering the wild bird tagging system in Poland, the station conducts a number of independent research programs covering a wide spectrum of bird biology and ecology issues
Kenya is part of the route for many migratory birds which come to Africa in the winter months.
The country is a signatory to the Convention on Migratory Species, whose conference of parties one of the key mandates is to ensure the conservation of migratory bird species and their habitats.
The last major bird incident occurred in January 2020, involving a rare Osprey Bird that flew over 7000 kilometres into the country from Finland.
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) attributed its death to long-term starvation that had led to massive organ failure.
"Despite all efforts to rehabilitate and eventually release it back to the wild, the four-year-old bird of prey died at the weekend while under the care of KWS veterinarians and a KWS-licensed Raptor Rehabilitation Centre in Karen Nairobi.
"A post-mortem report conducted by the veterinary teams attributed the death to long-term starvation which precipitated systemic organic failure," KWS stated at the time.
