Hundreds of elephants dying in a mysterious way

Botswana: Elephants found dead, officials says because of pandemic

credit : Business Insider

New Delhi : A mass elephant die-off in Botswana remains a mystery, but officials and conservationists hope to have some answers in the coming week. Elephants don't just drop dead for no reason, which is why the unexplained deaths of more than 350 elephants in the Okavango Delta has caused global concern.

Elephants in Botswana may be facing a deadly outbreak of their own.

Earlier this month, conservationists informed that at least 350 elephants have been found dead in the African country over the last two months, with no answers yet as to what killed them.

Distressing photographs show some of the elephants have fallen on their faces on the savanna, never to get up again.

That's because samples of the elephant carcasses tested so far have ruled out known diseases that have caused mass deaths in herds in the past.

But Botswanan officials suggested in a recent statement that a novel disease could be to blame, according to Bloomberg.

Botswana has already received test results from samples sent to Zimbabwe, but is waiting for more results from South Africa next week before sharing findings with the public.

The officials said they plan to release more information on the tests next week.

UK-based conservation organization National Park Rescue has criticised the Botswanan government for not addressing the deaths fast enough.

Botswana, in southern Africa, with 130,00 elephants, is home to the world's largest population.

"It's one of the biggest disasters to impact elephants this century, and right in the middle of one of Africa's top tourism destinations," Mark Hiley, National Park Rescue's co-founder, said.

Hiley said that conservationists had urged Botswanan officials to act, to no avail.

He said officials dragged their feet for weeks about sending samples of the carcasses off for analysis.

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