Hundreds of elephants mysteriously die in Africa: scientists do not rule out danger to people - ForumDaily
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Hundreds of elephants mysteriously die in Africa: scientists do not exclude danger to people

The “absolutely unprecedented” death of elephants in Botswana over the past two months is surrounded by mystery, writes Air force.

Photo: Shutterstock

Dr Niall McCann, from the charity National Park Rescue, said colleagues in the southern African country had documented more than 350 dead elephant carcasses in the Okavango Delta through aerial photography since early May.

No one knows why animals die, and the results of laboratory tests have to wait a few more weeks.

Botswana has a third of the elephant population in Africa.

Dr. Mackenn told the BBC that local environmentalists first warned the government about dead animals in early May, after flying over the Okavango Delta.

“They spotted 169 elephants during the three-hour flight,” he said.

“A month later, further investigation revealed many more carcasses, bringing the total to over 350. This is absolutely unprecedented for the number of elephants killed in a single non-drought event,” he added.

In May, the government of Botswana ruled out poaching as the cause of mass death, because the animal tusks remained in place, Phys.org reports.

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There are other things that point to something other than poaching.

“Only the elephants die and no one else,” Dr McCann said. “If it was cyanide that the poachers used, you would see different deaths.”

Dr. Mackenn also previously ruled out death as a result of anthrax, which killed at least 100 elephants last year in Botswana.

However, scientists cannot rule out death due to poisoning or illness. Before the death of the animal, they mostly fell on the face, walked in a circle. According to Mr. Mannequin, something attacked their nervous system.

One way or another, without knowing the source, it is impossible to exclude the possibility of transmitting the disease to people - especially if the cause is in water sources or soil. Dr McCann recalls the COVID-19 pandemic, which is believed to have started due to transmission of the coronavirus from animals.

“Yes, it is an environmental disaster, but it also has the potential to become a public health crisis,” he said.

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Dr. Cyril Taolu, Acting Director of Botswana’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks, told the Guardian that the death of at least 280 elephants has already been confirmed, and there is a process to confirm the deaths of the rest.

However, officials do not know what caused the death of animals.

“We have sent [samples] for testing and expect results within the next two weeks,” Dr. McCann said.

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