Kenya elephant numbers more than double in 3 decades

Kenya's elephant numbers more than doubled between 1989 and 2018, thanks to increased anti-poaching efforts, the tourism minister said on Wednesday.

Kenya had just 16,000 elephants in 1989, and this rose to more than 34,000 in 2018, Minister Najib Balala said.

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The number of elephants poached so far this year stood at seven, down from 34 in all of 2019, and 80 in 2018.

In 2016, President Uhuru Kenyatta set fire to thousands of elephant tusks and rhino horns, destroying a stockpile that would have been worth a fortune to smugglers and sending a message that trade in the animal parts must be stopped.