Botswana reports mysterious deaths of hundreds of elephants
Botswana reports mysterious deaths of hundreds of elephants
GABORONE (AFP) - Hundreds of elephants have died mysteriously in Botswana’s famed Okavango Delta, the wildlife department said Thursday, ruling out poaching as the tusks were found intact.
The landlocked southern African country has the world’s largest elephant population, estimated to be around 130,000.
"We have had a report of 356 dead elephants in the area north of the Okavango Delta and we have confirmed 275 so far," Cyril Taolo, the acting director of the department of Wildlife and National Parks, told AFP in a text message.
He said the cause of the deaths was yet to be established with anthrax having been ruled out.
"We do not suspect poaching since (the) animals were found with tusks," he said.
Samples have been collected and sent to specialised laboratories in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Canada for testing.
Similar deaths were first reported in May when authorities found 12 carcasses in just a week in two villages in the northwest of the country.
"It seems they were dying very suddenly in some cases," conservation biologist, Keith Lindsay told AFP, adding that the deaths were sudden.
"The carcases were animals that had fallen down while walking... right on their sternum which is very unusual," said Lindsay.
"Up to now there doesn’t seem to be any clear sign of the reason for it. When something like this happens it is alarming."
