COVID-19 DUMMIES - 'Catastrophic' elephant deaths mystery: Hundreds have dropped dead in Botswana, and no one knows why

Hundreds of elephants have mysteriously dropped dead in 
Botswana, leaving wildlife experts and government officials 
searching for answers.

Dr. Niall McCann, director of conservation at U.K.-based charity 
National Park Rescue, told the BBC that since the start of May, 
colleagues in Botswana had spotted over 350 elephant carcasses 
in the country’s Okavango Delta.

Heartbreaking aerial photos show the dead elephants dotted 
around the Botswanan landscape. The mysterious deaths have also 
sparked concerns about the potential health impact on people 
living in the local area.

“A catastrophic die-off of elephants is happing in northern 
Botswana, and no one knows why. It’s vital that a team of 
independent experts visit and sample the carcasses before any 
more elephants die, or this spills over into the local human 
population,” McCann tweeted Wednesday.

Government officials in Botswana say there is no evidence that 
poaching is involved in the mysterious elephant deaths.

McCann told the Guardian that elephants have been seen walking 
around in circles, which might indicate a neurological condition 
that is afflicting them. The biologist told the Guardian that 
some of the elephants have fallen straight on their faces, 
suggesting that they died quickly. Others, however, are dying 
more slowly.

An unknown pathogen or poisoning are two possibilities, 
according to the Guardian, which says that Anthrax has been 
ruled out.

Phys.org reports that last year, more than 100 elephants in 
Botswana died in a suspected outbreak of natural Anthrax. 
Subsequent investigations reported than elephants died from 
Anthrax while others were victims of drought, according to 
Phys.org.

The Guardian reports that cyanide poisoning, which is sometimes 
used by poachers, seems an unlikely cause of the latest die-off 
given that the dead bodies of scavengers, such as vultures, have 
not been seen near the elephant carcasses.

Fox News has reached out to Dr. McCann and National Park Rescue 
on this story.

In a statement released on July 2, the Botswanan government said 
that investigations into the unexplained deaths are ongoing.

“Following the mysterious deaths of elephants in the areas 
around Seronga since March 2020, to date, 275 elephant carcasses 
have been verified against the 365 reported cases,” it said. 
“Three laboratories in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Canada have 
been identified to process the samples taken from the dead 
elephants which will be interpreted against field veterinary 
assessments of clinically ill and dead elephants.”

Seronga is a village located near the start of the Okavango 
Delta.

“Members of the public are assured that tusks are being removed 
from the dead elephants and carcasses within proximity to human 
settlements continue to be destroyed,” added the Botswana 
government in its statement.

The African elephant is classified as “vulnerable” on the 
International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List.

Last year, more than 500 vultures in Botswana were poisoned 
after elephant carcasses were laced with chemicals.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers

https://www.foxnews.com/science/elephant-deaths-mystery-hundreds-
have-dropped-dead-in-botswana