New pathogen may be responsible for hundreds of elephant deaths in Botswana
Botswana s mystery spate of elephant deaths could be caused by a novel disease , the government fears.
Six new elephant carcasses have been discovered in the African country, taking the total since May to in a crisis which has left officials and veterinarians baffled.
ities say that poaching is not the cause, and the government now claims that initial test results have ruled out a number of known diseases – suggesting that a new pathogen could be to blame, reports.
The deaths are concentrated in an area of , square miles in the Okavango Delta that is home to about , elephants, and neighbouring countries have not reported any similar problems.
Unexplained: A veterinarian stands over the carcass of an elephant in the Okavango Delta yesterday, where hundreds of elephants have been mysteriously found dead
Officials and conservationists ruled out poaching at an early stage because the carcasses have been found intact, with their tusks on.
Poachers sometimes use poisons like cyanide to kill elephants, but scavenging animals do not appear to be dying near the carcasses.
Government veterinary scientists have also ruled out anthrax after taking samples from the dead animals in the Okavango Panhandle.
As many as per cent of the dead elephants have been found clustered near watering holes, but other animals do not seem to be dying in large numbers.
Cyril Taolo, acting director of Botswana s wildlife department, said the government had contacted neighbours Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia and Zambia but they had not seen similar elephant deaths.
Africa s overall elephant population is declining due to poaching, but Botswana, home to almost a third of the continent s elephants, has seen numbers grow from , in the late s to , now.
We are not dealing with a common thing, it looks like it s a rare cause, said Mmadi Reuben, principal veterinary officer at the Department of Wildlife and National Parks.
We cannot rule out anything at this stage, it could be a virus, vegetation, overnutrition after last year s drought … We have asked the community not to interact with the carcasses.
Mystery: A dead elephant lies in the Okavango Delta in Botswana, where officials and veterinarians have ruled out poaching and anthrax as causes of the crisis
As many as per cent of the dead elephants have been found clustered near watering holes, but other animals do not seem to be dying in large numbers
Botswana said today it had received its first test results from samples sent to Zimbabwe, but are holding them back until they can be compared to other tests.
We are hoping the second set of results will come in next week and that’s when we should be able to communicate to the public the cause of deaths, an official said.
Reuben said officials were expecting to receive test results this week on samples sent to South Africa and Canada.
The death rate in the affected area is below two per cent, but the carcasses have attracted vultures leaving droppings and eating their flesh.
Hundreds of live elephants are still wandering near the carcasses, which have been marked in red paint by officials.
Some campaign groups have criticised the government for acting too slowly to solve the mystery of the dying elephants, an accusation which Reuben denied.
Although the number is still only a small fraction of the , elephants in Botswana, there are fears more could die if authorities cannot establish the cause.
Wave Kashweka, a senior veterinary officer in Botswana s North-West district, said officials had found elephants which appeared to have died recently.
Aerial surveys would be used try and find more carcasses if they exist, he said.
