400 Dead Elephants Found In Botswana, Death Toll Still Increases While The Reason Has Yet To Be Determined

At least 400 elephants have found dead mysteriously in Botswana within a few weeks. The conservationists are currently urging the government of this country to investigate this “catastrophic” situation.

A cluster of dead elephants was initially reported at the beginning of May when the locals found carcasses in the Okavango Delta. By the end of the month, that number increased to 169 and more than doubled by mid-June. According to an aerial survey, around 70% of them had found near watering holes and they were of all ages and both sexes. The investigation behind the mass death has been ongoing to discover the cause.

Meanwhile, the reason hadn’t been determined yet. The main reasons are said to be poaching, poisoning, or maybe an unknown pathogen. Coronavirus has also been supposed as one of the possible causes.

However, the tusks were still found intact on the dead elephants, so ivory poaching seemed not to the cause. Anthrax, on the other hand, is known to be a naturally-occurring poison that is mainly found in the soil in some parts of Botswana. It has been affected the wildlife occasionally, but the authorities affirm it is not the culprit.

UK-based charity National Park Rescue’s director of conservation, Dr. Niall McCann stated that mass die-off has not been recorded in a very long time.  In an interview with The Guardian, he said,

“There is no precedent for this being a natural phenomenon but without proper testing, it will never be known.”

Earlier in June, the whole world burst in tears when seeing the picture of a pregnant elephant in Kerala, India died while seeking food. She got killed by locals who fed her a pineapple with explosives hiding inside. The incident quickly sparked the anger of the netizens across the world.

Stay tuned to get more updates of the dead elephants case.