Suspected poachers kill rhino at Lake Nakuru National Park

Even as investigations into the death of eight black rhinos are underway, another one has been killed at the Lake Nakuru National Park.

The park's senior warden Catherine Wambani said the rhino was killed on Monday night by suspected poachers.

“The poachers made away with the animal’s horns,” said Ms Wambani.

Journalists who arrived at the park to cover the incident were denied access to the area, where Nakuru security chiefs were holed up in a meeting over the incident.

Those in the meeting included the Nakuru County Commissioner Joshua Nkanatha, police commander Hassan Barua and Kenya Wildlife Service officers.

The rhino's killing comes hardly a month after eight others — that had been moved to the Tsavo National Park from Nakuru and Nairobi national parks — died mysteriously.

The eight were part of a herd of 11 recently moved because of overcrowding in the two parks.

The newly-established, 100-square-kilometre Tsavo East Rhino Sanctuary in Kenya’s oldest and largest national park, was expected to be more conducive for breeding.

Following the mysterious deaths, the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife suspended the relocation exercise that targeted 14 rhinos.

The translocation was jointly conducted by KWS and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) at a cost of Sh100 million.