'Moving a giraffe is a delicate process’: rising waters threaten Kenya's wildlife

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Marooned giraffes, fleeing flamingoes and stranded impalas: in recent years the rising water levels in east Africa’s Rift Valley lakes have become the norm, displacing people, threatening wildlife and submerging schools and hotels.

The gradual rise was first noticed 10 years ago but was accelerated by heavy rains in 2019, according to Kenya’s principal secretary in the ministry of environment and forestry, Chris Kiptoo.

This year Lake Turkana, the northernmost lake in Kenya, was six metres deeper than usual by November. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has described the threat to the lake as “critical”. Its 2020 conservation outlook, published this month warns: “Lake Turkana’s unique qualities as a large lake in a desert environment are under threat as the demands for water for development escalate and the financial capital to build major dams becomes available.”