Kenyan wildlife experts are demanding answers after the unprecedented deaths in transit of eight critically endangered rhinos, in an accident described as being “a disaster for the world”.

Fourteen animals were being transported to a new reserve, Tsavo East, in southern Kenya from their homes in Nairobi and Lake Nakuru national parks.

Such transfers, involving the sedation and moving by land of the animals, are not unusual. However, with around 700 left in the whole country, transportation is a delicate affair – and the deaths of the eight animals means that one per cent of the entire population has been wiped out in one week.

Dr Paula Kahumbu, a Kenyan wildlife conservationist and CEO of the WildlifeDirect, said it was astonishing that such catastrophic mistakes could be made, in a country so used to caring for its rhinos.

“It’s a disaster – a disaster not just for Kenya, but for the world,” she told The Telegraph.“These animals have been protected for decades by rangers. So for them to die like this is incredibly alarming. And I’m very surprised we haven’t been told yet what happened.”