大象传媒

About 1700 elephants live in and around the Amboseli National Park, near Mount Kilimanjaro. They are all so well studied that conservationists know them all by name.

But now those same conservationists are up in arms about an avocado plantation that has been set up in one of their travel corridors - stopping the free movement they need for finding food and mates.

The firm, KiliAvo, told Reuters that the farm was actually 17 km away from Amboseli in an area designated for farming, and that KiliAvo is "actually a victim of witch-hunt and opportunism.鈥�

Dr. Paula Kahumbu, the CEO of Wildlife Direct - a conservation campaign organisation - says 180 acres of prime habitat has already been cleared while the issue is tied up in the courts.

"They've continued expanding, they've put up fences, they've started preparing the land for the planting of these avocados.... The animals need to move in this area. They can move their farm, the animals' corridor can't be moved."

(Photo: Tolstoy and companion in front of Mount Kilimanjaro. Credit: Jeremy Goss)

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