Hundreds of Elephants Die Mysteriously
Hundreds of elephants have been found dead in Botswana's Okavango Delta. Poaching has been ruled out as the tusks had not been removed. Wildlife specialists have described the die-off as a "conservation disaster".
Botswana in southern Africa has the world's largest elephant population, estimated to be around 130,000.
"We have had a report of 356 dead elephants in the area north of the Okavango Delta and we have confirmed 275 so far," Cyril Taolo, the acting director of the department of Wildlife and National Parks, told the French news agency AFP.
He said the cause of the deaths has yet to be established but anthrax has already been ruled out. Anthrax killed at least 100 elephants in Botswana last year.
"We do not suspect poaching since the animals were found with tusks," he said.
Cyanide poisoning has also been discounted by experts, since elephants are the only species affected. "If it was cyanide used by poachers, you would expect to see other deaths," said Dr Niall McCann of the UK-based charity National Park Rescue.
