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The elephants, which had intact tusks, had died in circumstances similar to those discovered last week.
This image provided on July 3, 2020 courtesy of the National Park Rescue charity shows the carcass of one of the many elephants that have mysteriously died in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. Image: AFP
HARARE – Zimbabwe’s wildlife agency said Wednesday that it had discovered more elephant carcasses near a major hunting park, bringing the number of dead animals suspected of being killed by a bacterial infection to 22, double the the starting figure.
The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) has already ruled out poaching and cyanide poisoning from the death of elephants in the Pandamasuwe forest in western Zimbabwe, among the largest wildlife sanctuary, the Park Hwange National and Victoria Falls.
Zimparks spokesperson Tinashe Farawo said the last elephant carcasses were found on Tuesday and Wednesday. Most of the animals were young and the oldest was 18 years old.
The elephants, which had intact tusks, had died in circumstances similar to those discovered last week.
“We suspect that they are the same causes as the first group and we are also considering taking samples to other independent laboratories so that we can expand our investigations,” Farawo said.
He said it will be a while before a final report on the causes of the deaths is ready.
Zimbabwe officials say the biggest threat to Zimbabwe’s elephant herd is overcrowding and that decreased rainfall this year could once again leave the animals in danger of starvation after at least 200 died in 2019. for lack of water and food.
Zimbabwe is home to about 80,000 elephants, about a fifth of all in Africa, conservationists estimate. The overall numbers have dropped dramatically in recent years, mainly due to a combination of poaching, illegal hunting, and drought.
Earlier this year, neighboring Botswana suffered hundreds of mysterious elephant deaths. A wildlife official in Botswana said in July that preliminary tests pointed to a natural toxin as a likely cause.
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