Elephant Hit By a Bus in Voi, Africa

On Saturday night, an elephant hit by a bus died. The bus was driving on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway when it struck the elephant crossing the road. The elephant was crossing the road from Tsavo West National Park into Tsavo East National Park. According to the eyewitnesses, the bus was Nairobi-bound and had passengers on board. While the bus driver tried to avoid the collision it inevitably crashed into the large animal.

African Elephant hit by a Bus

Gilbert Mzee was on the bus and witnessed the accident. He stated that the bus sustained a lot of damage and a few of the passengers and the bus driver were injured. According to the Voi sub-county police, those injured on the bus were taken to Moi County Referral Hospital. The bus driver sustained injuries to both of his legs. Another passenger sustained injuries to his arm.

Before long, word spread of the dead elephant throughout the community. A rush of people came to take pieces of the elephant meat. While it is illegal to hunt and kill elephants for their meat, it is acceptable to take the meat from a dead animal. The meat from the elephant hit by a bus fed a large community and was not wasted. Elephants getting hit by a bus or other vehicles is nothing new in Africa. Last year, a bus driver hit and killed three elephants in Zimbabwa while trying to avoid another herd crossing the road.

The Officers from Kenya Wildlife Service also arrived to make sure that no one took the elephant tusk. Rangers from Wildlife Trust were also at the scene to help retrieve the tusk and prevent any problems.

The African elephant population has diminished over the century due to poachers and loss of habitats. There were an estimated 12 million elephants 100 years ago. Today, there are estimated to be only 415,000 in the wild and protected parks. Over 20,000 African elephants are poached yearly for their tusks, meat, and body parts.