Hundreds of Dead Elephants Were Just Found in Botswana. No One Knows How They Died.
By: Julian Mok
Elephants in Addo National Park, South Africa. Photo source
Lexington — The mysterious and sudden deaths of hundreds of elephants in Botswana has shaken the conservation community. As the Botswanan government continues its investigation into the deaths, experts around the world have posed various theories that could possibly explain the tragic phenomenon but are yet to find a firm answer.
A total of 350 elephant carcasses were found strewn across the northern fringes of the Okavango Delta, a swampy inland region that hosts huge wildlife populations. This discovery was especially disturbing as Botswana is renowned for its conservation, serving as a haven for a third of the continent’s elephant population. The country has, until this year, prohibited hunting and poaching, allowing its elephant population to grow to 130,000. This is the first year that the Botswanan government has awarded elephant hunting licenses, but the practice has been held off due to coronavirus disruptions.
The nature of the elephants’ deaths is especially mysterious and unlike anything conservationists have ever seen – aerial surveys revealed hundreds of elephants appearing very disoriented, walking in circles and dragging their hind legs. This suggests that they were affected by an agent that interfered with their normal neurological communication before experiencing a sudden death. The UK-based National Park Rescue first observed the strange nature of the deaths in early May after a three-hour flight where they spotted 169 elephant carcasses, many of which appeared to have died by dropping on their faces. Further investigations identified hundreds more carcasses.
Mass elephant deaths are rare, but not totally unheard of. Just last year, anthrax, a disease caused by naturally occurring bacterium in the environment, killed almost 100 elephants in Botswana. This cause has been ruled out by tests. In 2009, a severe drought was responsible for 400 elephant deaths in Kenya, but this too has been ruled out – rainfall has been normal in the past months. Droughts also tend to kill the very young or very old, but a majority of the recent deaths have been mature adult elephants.
Some experts have also raised the possibility of frustrated locals intentionally poisoning the elephants by placing laced fruits high in trees, which would explain why elephants in their prime are dying. Elephants and humans have experienced rising tensions as growing populations have begun competing with humans for space. Poisons, like cyanide, can cause the types of neurological behaviors recently observed. The other likely cause of death is disease. Scientists have not ruled out an unknown disease that interferes with neurological pathways and leads to sudden death. However, these will remain theories until conclusive results are released.
The Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks has been at the head of the investigation. Testing is underway, but many in the conservation community believe the Botswanan government has been complacent, leading the mystery to drag on for months. Samples from the carcasses have been sent to labs in Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the US – Cyril Taolo, acting director of the Botswana Department of Wildlife, says that they have received results from bacterial detection, toxicology and histopathology tests from several labs. They are awaiting tests from the US and may send virus detection tests to the UK for further study.
Until the results are released, the mass elephant deaths will remain a mystery. Of the possible causes of death, scientists are most worried about discovering a new disease that has the potential to wipe out vast swaths of elephants and cross over to humans. It would be especially alarming if the disease were naturally found in soil or water. It is impossible to rule out anything at this point in the investigation, but onlookers and experts alike are waiting impatiently for the results.