The mystery of the 275 elephants killed in Botswana

At least 275 elephants have died in recent months in the tourist region of the Okavango Delta, northern Botswana, according to information from authorities and non-governmental organizations, which suspect a mysterious disease.

“We received a report on 356 elephants killed in the North Okavango Delta and so far we have confirmed the deaths of 275 pachyderms,” ​​said Botswana’s director of national parks and wildlife, Cyril Taolo, quoted by France Presse.

“The cause of death is being determined. We sent samples to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Canada for analysis,” he added.

According to the same official, anthrax disease was excluded as a cause of death and the authorities do not suspect the activities of poachers because the animals were found with the prey.

According to the report, from the non-governmental organization Elephants Without Borders (EWB), dated June 19, 2020, 356 elephants were found dead in the Okavango Delta.

It is estimated that the death of around 70% is “about a month ago, while 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.

“It was observed that live elephants were very weak, lethargic, and some disoriented and with difficulty moving,” he added, adding that males and females of all ages appeared to be affected by a “mysterious disease”.

“An elephant has been observed to walk in circles and unable to change direction, despite the encouragement of other members of the herd,” he said.

The Ministry of Tourism said at the end of May it was investigating the mysterious deaths of ten elephants in the Okavango Delta.

Located between Zambia, Namibia and South Africa, Botswana is home to around 130,000 free elephants, a third of its known African population.

In 2018, the EWB sparked controversy by claiming to have identified 90 elephant carcasses, a situation described at the time by Michael Chase as the “most serious poaching episode in Africa”.

The Botswana government then strongly denied these figures, arguing that the NGO had in fact counted only 53 elephant carcasses, most of which had died “due to natural causes or conflicts between man and wildlife”.

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