Unexplained Elephant Deaths: Zimbabwe

[Richprins]

Zimbabwe probes deaths of 12 elephants near Hwange park

Eleven carcasses were discovered on Friday and another on Saturday in the Pandamasuwe forest tucked between Hwange and Victoria Falls town.


AFP | about 17 hours ago

JOHANNESBURG - Zimbabwean wildlife authorities are investigating the deaths of 12 elephants last week in a forest north of the country's famed Hwange National Park, an official said Sunday.

Eleven carcasses were discovered on Friday and another on Saturday in the Pandamasuwe forest tucked between Hwange and Victoria Falls town.

"We have ruled out things like poaching because the tusks are intact, we have also ruled out cyanide poisoning because no other animal has been affected including vultures which are feeding on them," parks and wildlife spokesperson Tinashe Farawo told AFP.

The dead animals are young adults aged between five and six years and juveniles around 18 months old.

Farawo said preliminary indications are there might be a bacteria around because the "animals are overpopulated to an extent that their preferred vegetation is no longer there, so they end up eating anything including some poisonous plants".

With a population of more than 84,000 pachyderms, Zimbabwe is nearly doubling its ecological carrying capacity of between 45,000 and 50,000.

Farawo said Hwange, a park with an area of 14,600 square kilometres, has a normal maximum capacity of 15,000 elephants, but it currently holds between 45,000 and 53,000.

Neighbouring Botswana, home to the world's largest elephant population of around 130,00, lost around 300 elephants early this year. They are thought to have succumbed to natural toxins.

https://ewn.co.za/2020/08/30/zimbabwe-p ... wange-park

[Lisbeth]

First thing to do, is compare the blood samples to the ones of the dead Botswana elephants.

They are thought to have succumbed to natural toxins.

This is very vague Have others been found or was it just in a certain time span

Has there been an official declaration from the Botswana Government or wildlife officials

[Peter Betts]

If its Zim Ellies ...100% chance of it being Strychnine Poisoning

[Klipspringer]

https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/africa ... oll-at-22/?

Zimbabwe finds more elephant carcasses, death toll at 22
02 September 2020 - 19:31
BY REUTERS

Zimbabwe's wildlife agency said on Wednesday it had discovered more elephant carcasses near a major game park, bringing the number of dead animals suspected to have been killed by a bacterial infection to 22, double the initial figure.

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) has already ruled out poaching and cyanide poisoning for the death of elephants in Pandamasuwe Forest in western Zimbabwe, between the largest wildlife sanctuary Hwange National Park and Victoria Falls.

Zimparks spokesman Tinashe Farawo said the latest elephant carcasses were found on Tuesday and Wednesday. Most of the animals were young, with the oldest being 18 years.

The elephants, which had their tusks intact, had died in similar circumstances to those first discovered last week.

"We suspect it is the same causes as the first group and we are also looking at taking samples to other independent laboratories so that we can broaden our investigations," said Farawo.

He said it would be a while before a final report on the causes of the deaths is ready.

Zimparks officials say the biggest threat to Zimbabwe's elephant herd is overpopulation and that lower rainfall this year could again leave the animals facing starvation after at least 200 died in 2019 from a lack of water and food.

Zimbabwe is home to some 80,000 elephants, around a fifth of Africa's total, conservationists estimate. Overall numbers have declined sharply in recent years, mostly due to a combination of poaching, illegal hunting and drought.

Earlier this year neighbouring Botswana was hit with hundreds of mysterious elephant deaths. A wildlife official in Botswana said in July preliminary tests pointed to a naturally occurring toxin as a probable cause.

[Lisbeth]

[Richprins]

The environment fights back?

[Lisbeth]

It always does, in one way or the other

[Ethan O Connor]

This is not good we have to keep All species alive mostly hunter kill elephant due to their teeth as they are tooo expensive and have several usage.