350 Elephants Killed By Rare Bacteria In Botswana And Zimbabwe says research

Scientists have discovered a bacteria that had killed 350 elephants. In Okavango, Botswana, 350 elephants died suddenly during May-June 2020. This incident surprised scientists and researchers. Dead bodies of giant animals were seen lying everywhere in Africa. The surprising thing was that there were no wounds or any other marks on his body that could indicate his death.

Scientists were shocked at the death of elephants in Africa. But one special thing that was observed was that before dying the elephants started roaming in circles. And then they would fall on their faces with a thud. After 2 months, similar symptoms were again seen in 35 elephants in Zimbabwe. According to The Guardian, at the time these deaths were thought to be caused by a cyanobacterial toxin about which not much had been written.

Then, when elephants started dying in a similar manner in Zimbabwe, serious research was done and it was found that these deaths were caused by a bacteria called Pasteurella Bisgard Taxon 45, which produces poison in the blood. This bacteria was rare and not much was known about it. Initially this bacteria was not linked to the death of elephants. Researchers then speculated that perhaps it was the same bacteria that had caused elephant deaths in neighboring countries.

The research paper has been written by a team of international researchers including researchers from South African laboratories including the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust and the University of Surrey. Africa's Savanna elephants are rapidly moving towards extinction, declining at a rate of 8% every year. The main reason for this has been said to be illegal hunting. It is said that only 3,50,000 elephants are left in the forest area. And if they continue to fall victim to any bacterial infection, their numbers may reduce rapidly.