Story By: Lee Bullen,Sub Editor: Joseph Golder,Agency: Central European News
Kenyan Red Cross rescuers have saved over 500 camels – some of which are seen here stuck in a swamp after a period of heavy rain.
The government of Garissa County in Kenya’s North Eastern Province joined forces with the country’s Red Cross branch over a three-day period to rescue the camels from a swamp in the area of Fafi.
However, heavy rains meant that the authorities managed to rescue most of the 500 camels, but there are still a few animals stuck in hard-to-reach areas of the expansive swamp that will need to be rescued by helicopter, according to local media.
County official Abdinoor Ole Hussein told local media: “I saw around five of them unable to move. The area is forested and huge, we are talking about an area 70 kilometres (42 miles) wide here.”
He added: “We have managed to rescue most of the animals, only a few are left which the county government and Red Cross are trying to move to safety.”
Hussein said that rescuers had to walk over five kilometres (three miles) to reach where the camels were stuck.
He added: “Those remaining can only be moved by helicopter. The herders are desperate to have their livestock moved to safety.”
According to the official, the camel herders were moving the camels upstream before the rains fell and caught them by surprise.
Reports said the swamp was so wide and muddy that the camels were unable to reach a safe spot on the other side.
Red Cross regional manager Mohamed Abdikadir told local media that the remaining camels are being cared for and will be moved soon.
Between 1999 and 2009, the camel population of Kenya rose from 800,000 to over 3 million as herders switched from bovines to camels to adapt to climate change.
Among other things, camel milk is said to be a reliable alternative source of food in countries regularly hit by droughts, such as Kenya where aridity levels are significant.
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