|
 "Preliminary investigations suggest the elephants are dying from
anthrax whilst some died from drought effects," a Department of
Wildlife and National Parks statement said.
"Due to the severe drought, elephants end up ingesting soil while
grazing and get exposed to the anthrax bacteria spore," it said.
Elephants Without Borders said an aerial survey showed fresh
elephant carcasses increased by 593% between 2014 to 2018, mostly
from poaching and illegal hunting, with drought also a contributing
factor.
The wildlife authority said the latest deaths were in the Chobe
River front and Nantanga areas in northern Botswana, where 14 dead
elephants were found this week. It said it would be burning the
carcasses to prevent the anthrax infection from spreading to other
animals.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the
United States, anthrax is a bacteria found naturally in soil and
commonly affects domestic and wild animals when they breathe in or
ingest spores in contaminated soil, plants, or water. Anthrax is not
contagious and humans can only get infected by ingesting the
bacteria. It can be prevented in animals via regular vaccination.
[to top of second column] |
Botswana is home to almost a third of Africa's elephants, around
130,000. Botswana has lifted a ban on big-game hunting to combat a
growing conflict between humans and wildlife.
Botswana and its neighbors in southern Africa are experiencing a
severe drought because of below-average rainfall since an El Nino
weather system struck in 2015.
(Reporting by Brian Benza, writing by Mfuneko Toyana; editing by
Grant McCool)
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