'Ecological island': as Maasai herding lands shrink, so does space for Kenya's elephants

The collapse of ecotourism during the pandemic and moves to lease land to big farms threaten vital conservation corridors

• Budget cuts and collapse in tourism revenue pose severe' threat to nature

Kenyan elephants risk a slow extinction in a bleak, ever-shrinking ecological island" in one of the country's most picturesque and photographed landscapes, according to a government report.

The animals face a grim future as habitat loss is exacerbated by the pandemic's impact on tourism, which is pushing landowners to sell off areas for development, and a growing trend towards a sedentary lifestyle among the pastoralist Maasai people, says the new 10-year management plan.