Botswana officials have warned that a new pathogen may be to blame for the deaths of hundreds of elephants in the country.
After hundreds of elephant carcasses were found in the country’s northwest region, samples were taken to be analyzed by laboratories in Zimbabwe and South Africa to investigate the cause.
The results of the tests are due to be announced next week, Botswana’s Acting Permanent Secretary of the Environment Ministry Oduetse Koboto stated at a news conference, reported Bloomberg.
Early test results in Botswana ruled out known illnesses that would cause mass deaths among the animals, potentially signaling that “novel diseases” are responsible, Botswana’s government said in a statement, according to state-owned television.
Botswana contains the world’s largest population of elephants, numbering about 135,000, noted Bloomberg.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
