Scientists have revealed the reason behind the death of dozens of endangered elephants in Africa, highlighting the increasing risks to these animals and the African environment.
The British newspaper The Guardian said that in 2020, about 350 elephants were found dead under mysterious circumstances in Botswana, and 35 others in similar circumstances in Zimbabwe.
Tests conducted on the elephants that died in Zimbabwe showed that the cause was an unknown bacteria called Pasteurella Bisgard taxon 45, which led to blood poisoning and death of the elephants.
Dr Arnaud van Vliet, from Britain’s University of Surrey, said the infection “adds to the growing list of disease-related threats to elephant conservation”.
“This represents an important conservation concern for elephants in the largest remaining population of this endangered species,” said a paper published in the journal Nature Communications.
The number of African savannah elephants is declining by 8 percent annually, mainly as a result of poaching. New research suggests adding infectious diseases to the list of stresses they face.
Scientists said it was likely that these elephants were stressed by drought conditions at the time, making outbreaks of this infection more likely.
Pasteurella bacteria have previously caused the sudden death of about 200,000 saiga antelopes in Kazakhstan, and scientists believe that Pasteurella bacteria generally survive without causing damage to the tonsils of antelopes. However, the temperature rising to 37°C caused the bacteria to move into the bloodstream, and poisoning cases occurred.
This bacteria has also been observed in tigers, lions and squirrels, according to the research paper.
A Kenyan official warned, in 2022, that drought in her country had caused the death of 205 elephants and dozens of other wild animals in the period from February to October, during a drought that the country had not witnessed in 40 years.
In addition to elephants, 512 African antelope and 381 zebras died as a result of drought in the same period, some of them in national parks that are a major tourist attraction in the country.
A scientific study said that the natural world with its wild animals is disappearing, as the human population continues to grow, amounting to approximately 8 billion individuals.
2023-10-25 11:56:55
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