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Why camels are replacing cows as Kenya battles drought

Samburu pastoralists inspect camels gathered for sale at a livestock market, where various animals including camels are traded, in Merille, on September 30, 2025. [AFP]

"God, God, God, protect them," chanted two herders, their eyes following a dozen camels rushing toward acacia trees, oblivious to the dry riverbed in northern Kenya where it hasn't rained since April.

Sitting on the edge of a nearby well, Chapan Lolpusike recounted how his cows and oxen "all died" following the worst drought in four decades, caused by a succession of poor rainfall in 2021 and 2022.

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