Scientist Determine Cause of Elephant Deaths

US Person posted in 202 0some time ago about the mass die-off of elephants in Botswana and Zimbabwe.  It was speculated that they might have died from cyanide poisoning put in water holes by agriculturalists.  Some 350 elephants were found dead in the Okavango delta.  Thirty-five were found dead in Zimbabwe.E lephants of all ages were affected.  Some walked in circles until the dropped dead on their faces.  Tests done on the elephants in Zimbabwe have finally been reported.  The Botswana elephants were not tested.

credit: Reuters

Scientists have concluded that a little known bacterium, Pastuerella Bisgaard taxon 45, caused theelephant deaths by septicemia or blood poisoning.  An international team of researchers wrote in Nature Communications journal that the infection was not known in elephants before, but is responsible for the death of 200,000 saga antelope in Kazakhstan in 2018.  The bacteria normally lives in the tonsils of antelope, but extreme high temperatures caused it to migrate to the blood stream, killing the animals.  Elephants are highly social animals and were stressed by extreme heat and drought, which  may have had a role in the disease spreading.

A participant in the study said obtaining useful samples was challenging.  Working with a large carcass that is infected with an unknown pathogen that could infect humans is potentially dangerous.  Researchers at first suspected anthrax could be a cause of the disease. Cyanide was also a suspected cause.  Wild elephant populations are decreasing in Africa by 8% per year, primarily from poaching.  Infectious diseases should be added the list of threats facing the survival of elephants.