Following last year's mass die-off, more elephants have been found dead under inexplicable circumstances. The investigation by Botswana's authorities grows more complex.
Less than a year has passed since the mysterious mass die-off of more than three hundred elephants near the Okavango river delta, and once again in Botswana another group of 39 animals has been found lifeless in the same area. More precisely at Mombo, in the Moremi Game Reserve. This was announced in an official government statement which, at this time, is attempting to shed light on the causes.
Between May and June 2020, images of hundreds of elephant carcasses lying on the ground caused widespread dismay. The case had been described as "a total failure in their protection" in the very country that is home to one of the largest populations of elephants anywhere in the world. Approximately 130,000 individuals live within Botswana's borders, as the African Wildlife Foundation notes, while also stressing that their survival is seriously threatened by poaching. The most widely accepted estimates suggest that across the entire African continent, around 35,000 pachyderms are illegally killed each year for the ivory trade.
During last summer, the Botswanan authorities opened an investigation into the incident, eventually arriving at an explanation: the deaths were attributed to certain cyanobacteria present in the waterholes from which the elephants were drinking. A theory that did not, however, fully convince environmental organisations, which criticised the delay with which the surveys were conducted and the failure to collect biological samples from the carcasses.
Now the mystery reopens with another 39 elephants found dead in just three months, from January to March 2021. This time, however, investigations ordered by the Ministry of the Environment found no evidence of anthrax or bacteria in the water. The Department of Wildlife and National Parks carried out a thorough inspection of the area without identifying similar, apparently inexplicable, die-offs among other wild species. In short, the situation is growing more complex. For now, the government has issued an appeal to citizens, asking them not to consume the meat of these elephants and to promptly report any sightings to the authorities.
