Amboseli National Park reached a record number of 205 elephant births. Experts attribute these high numbers to the heavy rains, which increase elephants’ fertility rate. Cynthia Moss, founder of Amboseli Trust For Elephants, couldn’t be happier.
The park has never seen that many births in an entire year before, and they are feeling optimistic about all the progress. An elephant pregnancy lasts 22 months since the large fetus takes time to develop.
Moss said they were expecting more births by the end of that year. The park now boasts around 1500 elephants and many more to come. All the elephants are thriving and unaffected by the covid pandemic.
The park works hard to fight poaching and keep the elephants protected. There are still many places that want ivory, and that demand puts the elephants in danger.
Patrick Omondi is the Director of Biodiversity, Research, and Planning at Kenya Wildlife Service. He says that Kenya is on the path to recovery after the elephant population was devastated in the last century.
In the 1970s, there were more than 160,000 elephants in Kenya, but that number dropped to a shocking 16,000 by 1989. Their work in Amboseli National Park is helping, but they still have a long way to go.
There are still many dangers that elephants face. Moss says that the biggest threat the calves have is another possible drought. But they are doing everything they can to help.
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