GABORONE | At least 275 elephants have died recently in mysterious conditions in Botswana, in the region of the Okavango delta (north), very popular with tourists, we learned Thursday from concordant sources.
“We have received a report on the deaths of 356 elephants in the northern Okavango Delta, and so far we have confirmed the deaths of 275 pachyderms,” the director of national parks and Botswana wildlife, Cyril Taolo.
“The cause of death is being determined. We have sent samples to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Canada for analysis, ”he added.
“Anthrax (or anthrax) is excluded. Neither are we suspected of poachers since the animals were found with their tusks, “he said.
According to a report by the non-governmental organization Elephants Without Borders (EWB) dated June 19, 2020 and communicated to the press on Wednesday, 356 elephants were found dead in the Okavango Delta.
It is estimated that the death of about 70% of them dates back “about a month, while the death of the remaining 30% seems more recent, between one day and two weeks,” according to the director of the NGO Michael Chase. , author of the report.
Living elephants have been observed to be very weak, lethargic, and some disoriented and having difficulty moving, he said, adding that males and females of all ages appeared to be affected by this “mysterious disease”.
“We saw an elephant going around in circles and unable to change direction despite the encouragement of other members of the troop,” he said.
The Ministry of Tourism said in late May that it was investigating the mysterious death of a dozen elephants in the Okavango Delta.
Caught between Zambia, Namibia and South Africa, Botswana is home to around 130,000 free-ranging elephants, one third of their known African population.
In 2018, EWB created the controversy by claiming to have identified 90 pachyderm carcasses, a situation described at the time by Michael Chase as the “most serious poaching episode in Africa” of which it was informed.
The Botswana government strongly denied these figures, claiming that the NGO had actually counted only 53 elephant carcasses, the majority of which died “from natural causes or from conflicts between humans and wildlife”.
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