Hundreds of large animals dead during prolonged drought in Kenya

After several consecutive seasons of below-average rainfall, riverbeds have dried up and grasslands have been destroyed.

Kenya's Wildlife Conservation Service, along with several other organizations, has measured the loss of 205 elephants, 512 wildebeests, 381 common zebras, 51 buffaloes, 49 Grevy's zebras and 12 giraffes in the past nine months, according to a new report, the country's tourism ministry said.

Lack of rain in several countries

Prolonged drought across the Horn of Africa during the past four rainy seasons has left about 18 million people in need of food in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, according to reports from the World Food Programme.

The UN's World Meteorological Organization says the drought is the region's longest in four decades.