Kenya nabs 2 suspects with 7 kg of ivory

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said on Monday that they are holding two suspects after they were arrested with ivory weighing 7 kilogrammes in northwest Kenya.

KWS said in a statement released in Nairobi that the suspects who were arrested on Friday at a village in Uasin Gishu County were also found with pieces of leopard and serval cat skins following a tip off from members of the public.

"A motorbike they were using to ferry the contraband was also recovered," KWS said, adding that the two suspects would be arraigned in court on Monday.

Heavily-armed criminals kill elephants and rhinos for their tusks, which are used for ornaments and in some folk medicines.

The conservationists have also decried the entry of organized crime syndicates into the illegal wildlife trade, most notably of rhino horn and elephant ivory, which they said, has created a crisis situation in many African countries.

The poaching menace has brought renewed attention to a crisis that has persisted for decades - the steady decline of Africa's wildlife due to growing human populations and poverty that has put agricultural communities at odds with wildlife for resources.

Experts also warn that poaching has a profound effect on elephant's behavior, with survivors of poaching attacks showing symptoms of trauma and stress that result in aberrant and highly aggressive behavior towards local people, disrupted social structures, as well as reduced breeding success. Endi