• Elephants are loving magnificent animals and indeed, one of the men's best friends, and a big tourism earner, creating development in the Africa continent.
• Dr. McCann, of the UK-based charity National Park Rescue, however, has a theory that speculates the possibility of the deaths being caused by poachers as hardly an option.
As we now know, Botswana is home to a third of Africa's declining elephant population. But, over the last two months, 350 elephant carcasses have been spotted in the Okavango Delta since the start of May.
It is a serious worry that over 350 elephants have died with no clear reason and indeed a conservation disaster.
The world looks at this mysterious deaths and needs to know the real cause of the mass loss of elephants, and what should be done to stop this unnatural disaster, one thing the deaths are unrelated to drought.
Elephants are loving magnificent animals and indeed, one of the men's best friends, and a big tourism earner, creating development in the Africa continent.
Dr. McCann, of the UK-based charity National Park Rescue, however, has a theory that speculates the possibility of the deaths being caused by poachers as hardly an option. And that it was only Elephants that have been dying in such an alarming manner which is quite bizarre.
He, therefore, went on further to say that, they have been unable to rule out poisoning or disease and the way the animals appear to be dying many, dropping on their faces and sightings of other elephants walking in circles points to something potentially attacking their neurological systems. Besides, local witnesses reported seeing some elephants walking around in circles, which is an indication of neurological impairment, these are opinions.
" Scientists and conservations are concerned as elephants are endangered species and a big contributor to biodiversity and tourism revenue for the continent. A solution needs to be looked into as the world remains concerned about the mass death of Elephants too ". Diaz like most conservationists is requesting urgent action and has written several articles on the Botswana and Africa wildlife situations.
On the other hand, the Botswana government is yet to test samples and draw conclusions. We look forward to more information from the authorities.
In the meantime, there is hardly any information on what is causing the deaths or whether they could pose a risk to human health.
There is, however, a developing possibility that the true number of deaths is likely to be even higher because carcasses can be difficult to spot. According to research, there are about 15,000 elephants in the delta, 10% of the country’s total. Eco-tourism however, contributes between 10-12% of Botswana’s GDP, second only to diamonds.
This confirms that this whole ordeal is such a conservation disaster.
And in my opinion as passionate as I am about the wildlife and especially the elephants, there should be a real urgency to investigate the deaths, it is in my suggestion that the tusks on the elephants be recorded and stored.
I would request H.E Mokgweetsi Masisi the President of Botswana to burn all the ivory collected, as to stop the trade, as done by, HE Uhuru Kenyatta Kenya President, who burnt down hundreds of tonnes of Ivory, to stop the poaching and cut out the ivory trade. Many nations including China have banned the ivory trade in their countries.
The future of Elephants is in the hands of everyone. Let us support the protection of the innocent and amazing wildlife, for future generations to enjoy seeing these animals in the wild.
Chris Diaz is a Business Leader & Conservationist.