This heartbreaking photograph shows a family of six giraffes lying dead after they got stuck in the mud in Kenya, as experts warn the drought being experienced by the African country could kill 4,000 of the animals.
Pictures of the animals lying together lifeless on the dry, orange earth were taken on Friday in the Sabuli Wildlife Conservancy in Wajir.
It is believed they got stuck in the mud when they attempted to drink from a nearby reservoir, which had almost dried up.
The corpses of the animals – classified as a vulnerable species – are seen lying on their sides sprawled out across the earth. One of the animal’s long necks stretches backwards, its head resting on another giraffe.
The giraffes, weak from lack of food and water, died after they got stuck in mud as they tired to drink from a nearly dried up reservoir nearby. The corpses of the animals – classified as a vulnerable species – are seen lying on their sides sprawled out across the earth. One of the animal’s long necks stretches backwards, its head resting on another giraffe.
The giraffes were already weak from starvation and from a lack of drinking water caused by the severe drought in the region, which received less than a third of its usual rainfall in September.
Food and water shortages as a result of the lack of rain have affected animals and people alike, with The Star reporting that 4,000 giraffes in the nearby Garissa county risk death as a result.