70 baby camels saved after toxic water poisons their mothers
114 camels, 70 goats, and 6 cows died after drinking toxic water from an abandoned well in the Marsabit county of Kenya
After their deaths, there was simply nothing left to feed the vulnerable calves who survived.
Earlier this month, a small community in Kenya was devastated after toxins seeped into the animals' water supply.
By the time Marsabit's villagers realized what had happened, it was too late, and over a hundred animals had tragically died.
A camel herder walks his camels in the village
The majority of the deceased animals were mother camels, who are vital to the community.
These animals provide milk, transport, economic security, and also companionship for the residents of Marsabit.
Hungry camel calves waiting to be fed
The deceased mother camels left behind roughly 70 calves, ranging between a week to two months old, a critical stage in their young lives where they'd normally be heavily reliant on their mothers for nutrition.
After their deaths, there was simply nothing left to feed the vulnerable calves who survived.
Our response
From January 16th to the 25th, we were on the ground in Kenya providing milk supplements to the surviving camel calves, which belonged to 106 different households in the community.
A camel calf being fed by our disaster response team
With urgent help from our supporters, our disaster response team responded quickly, providing milk to the baby camels and feeding other animals affected by the incident.
Moving forward, we will continue to provide resources to the villagers to ensure that the calves are fed until they are old enough for solid food.
Ongoing work
During our time in the village aiding animals, we also documented the experiences of the affected families to promote the needs for preparedness among animal owners and government officials country-wide.
Following this disaster, the World Animal Protection team will put forward efforts to lobby the Marsabit Governor to support animals in disasters initiatives.
