Ten elephant carcasses were found in the Pandamasuwe Forest, a national park in Zimbabwe on Wednesday, September 2. The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) said the elephants were not victims of poaching, but were suspected to have died from a bacterial infection, according to TimesLive.
Officials found 22 dead elephants in the last two weeks.
This is after 12 carcasses were found last week under similar circumstances, bringing the total deaths to 22. ‘I have a report which said there was a bacterial infection,’ Zimparks spokesman Tinashe Farawo told AFP.
The first deaths were all young elephants between two and six years old. Farawo added that the calves may have ingested the bacteria by grazing on infected plants. The elephants found dead on Wednesday were also young, with the oldest being only 18 years old.
Zimbabwe’s elephants face overpopulation, and lower rainfall this year could lead to starvation again after at least 200 elephants died from a lack of water and food in 2019, Zimparks officials say.
Botswana also experienced mass elephant deaths recently and the cause is yet to be confirmed.
Also read:
Developing story: Mass elephant deaths
Image credit: Twitter/Cities for Elephants
