Three black rhinos have died at the Mara in what officials term “unclear circumstances” as the cause of their death is yet to be established.

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is still waiting for the postmortem results to establish the cause of death but has ruled out the possibility of poaching saying the rhinos still had their horns, saying the rhinos might have consumed a poisonous plant or probably died of natural causes.

One of the rhinos was aged 37 and was first found rotting having possibly died of natural causes,” KWS said in a statement.

The rhinos died between November 12 and 19.

Maasai Mara National Reserve Chief Warden Moses Ole Kuyioni, however, said surveillance efforts have been stepped up in the reserve.

Even as we await the postmortem results from the Kenya Wildlife Veterinary officers, we have stepped up surveillance and veterinary offices have been dispatched to the ground to look into the condition of other rhinos within the greater Mara, The Mara Triangle and the Maasai Mara Conservancies,” Mr Kuyioni said.

Kuyioni, however, expressed concerns on whether the exact cause of death of the rhinos will be established saying the carcasses were discovered late.

“Experts can best ascertain the deaths of the disease after taking out samples within six hours after the death of an animal. The first carcass was discovered after five days, the other after three days and the other a day and a half, which might also affect the time it takes to ascertain the cause of death,” he said.