GinaChrisThemenstarter4'984 Beiträge · seit 201617. Mai 2020 · #1
Botswana Safari News 8 Std. · More than 20 elephants reportedly dead from unknown causes in Okavango panhandle. The ministry has pointed it suspect anthrax but other veterinarians have ruled it out . There are also fears the elephants could be poisoned. Post Mortem results are expected soon to determine cause of death while investigations continue.
Department Of Wildlife & National Parks 15. Mai um 11:20 · SPOT ANNOUNCEMENT The Department of Wildlife and National Parks in Seronga (Okavango-sub district) wishes to inform the general public that there are elephant mortalities recorded in the areas surrounding the villages of Seronga, Gunotsoga and Eretsha. Members of the public are urged to desist from ingesting meat from such carcasses since the animals are dying of unknown causes and this could be hazardous to their health. Therefore, the public is urged to immediately report any sightings of elephant carcasses to the following telephone numbers 6876823, 6876015 & 6876010 or the nearest Wildlife office, Police, BDF or Kgotla.
Thank you!
Quellen: fb Gruß Gina
GinaChrisThemenstarter4'984 Beiträge · seit 201618. Mai 2020 · #2
Botswana Safari News 10 Std. · 36 elephants carcasses counted in Okavango A total of 36 dead elephants were counted so far in the Okavango panhandle. The elephants have died from an 'unknown cause' according to Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP.) Yesterday by close of business 22 carcasses were reported. Today 14 more carcasses were reportedly found taking total to 36. Counting continues tomorrow. Samples from the carcasses were taken on Wednesday for a postmortem. Its is not yet known when the results will be out.
GinaChrisThemenstarter4'984 Beiträge · seit 201619. Mai 2020 · #4
Botswana Safari News 14 Std. Okavango Elephants death toll rise to 44 The death toll in the Okavango Panhandle elephants has risen to 44. Yesterday 36 carcasses were counted from which 14 carcasses were discovered 40 kilometres from Seronga catchment villages, the epicentre of all carcasses discoveries so far. Today 8 new discoveries were made taking the overall count to 44 elephants. The count is still ongoing. According to Department of Wildlife and National Parks, the elephants are dying from 'unknown causes'. There has been speculation that the cause of death could be poisoning or anthrax. But some experts have ruled anthrax out. Regional wildlife coordinator, Dimakatso Ntshebe today stated that postmortem results are expected soon but did not give the exact date. Ntshebe said the deaths are caused by an unknown pathogen. " Its doubtful if the elephants have been poisoned. Because if its poisoning it would affect other species in the area not just elephants. The poison would kill scanvengers like jackals and others which are feeding on carcasses. However we are not ruling anything out until the results are out' he said DWNP reiterated its plea to members of the public not to eat meat from the carcasses as the cause of death is unknown and potentially a health hazard.
Quelle:fb Gruß Gina
GinaChrisThemenstarter4'984 Beiträge · seit 201622. Mai 2020 · #5
Botswana Safari News 15 Std. OKavango Elephants death toll today 54 The death toll in the Okavango panhandle elephants deaths due to 'unknown causes' have increased to 54. Yesterday the number was 50 and 48 on Tuesday. Regional wildlife coordinator, Dimakatso Ntshebe told Botswana Safari News that a team of doctors from Department of Veterinary Services and Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) are now in Seronga to take more tests from the carcasses. Initial tests were taken and submitted to National veterinary Lab on May 14. Information gathered by this publication is that postmortem results take 10 to 14 days to be ready.
Quelle: fb Gruß Gina
GinaChrisThemenstarter4'984 Beiträge · seit 201627. Mai 2020 · #6
Botswana Safari News 12 Std Okavango elephants mortalities reach 60 Total of 60 elephants have died in the Okavango panhandle mysterious elephants deaths. Regional wildlife coordinator Dimakatso Ntshebe said the latest case was recorded on Sunday. He said however the number of dying elephants has eventualy gone down after initial surge in the first days. Ntshebe revealed that they are still waiting for postmortem results from veterinary Lab.
Quelle: fb Gruß Gina
GinaChrisThemenstarter4'984 Beiträge · seit 201630. Mai 2020 · #7
Botswana Safari News 5 Std.· Panhandle elephant deaths not caused by anthrax- results Results from veterinary lab have shown that the 60 elephants that died in the Okavango panhandle were not killed by anthrax. This was confirmed by Regional Wildlife coordinator Dimakatso Ntshebe who revealed that they received the results on Wednesday. However the samples tasted negative for anthrax but failed to prove which other pathogens is responsible for the deaths. Ntshebe said there was a second comprehensive tests was later done after the first test, by team of Department of Wildlife and National Parks and Veterinary services. He said they expect the second result to shed light on the cause of deaths. 60 elephants have died in the panhandle area. Earlier suspicious were the elephants could have died from poisoning as result of human and wildlife conflict. But some observers have pointed this is unlikely at this time as many farmers in the area have finished harvesting. Poaching has further been ruled out as all the carcasses had tusks intact. Hope the next results will clarify the mystery.
Quelle: fb Gruß Gina
GinaChrisThemenstarter4'984 Beiträge · seit 201607. Juni 2020 · #8
Botswana Safari News 13 Std. · Ron Thomson statement that Botswana elephants die from overpopulation misleading-Botswana experts
The statement reportedly uttered by respected South African elephant expert Ron Thomson linking Okavango elephants deaths to overpopulation is ridiculous and misleading, according to elephant experts in Botswana. since May 11, Botswana's Okavango panhandle has been experiencing mysterious elephant deaths. Almost a month later, authorities here are still struggling to identify the cause of deaths.
Thomson is a qualified field ecologist who has 58 years of experience working in Africa’s national parks and management systems. To show his respect, Thomson last year met President Mokgweetsi Masisi. Yesterday a tweet by Johannesburg based Environmental journalist, Emmanuel Kolo quoted Thomson saying he ruled out disease as the cause of deaths in Botswana. ‘Thomson says what he had long predicted is now happening –deaths caused by elephant overpopulation.’
In Botswana, experts have not been amused by Thomson’s statement. A leading veterinarian stated: ‘that’s an oversimplification. Overpopulation itself does not cause death. It leads to stress in individuals which makes them more susceptible to disease. Its these disease outbreaks that cause death. Until we know what the cause of all the deaths is, we will not be able to say it is related to overpopulation.’
Okavango Research Institute Professor of Tourism Studies Joseph explained that while he believes Botswana is overpopulated with elephants however, he does not agree with Thomson.
Regional wildlife coordinator Dimakatso Ntshebe rhetorically asked why the elephants would die during the green season while they did not die during the bad drought last year. Ntshebe does not as well agree that overpopulation is the cause of death as Thomson states.
Ntshebe added:’ what we believe is that the deaths are caused by a disease and we are investigating. We have sent samples for testing in South Africa and we are waiting for results. We continue to take more samples every day and send it to the veterinary lab for tests. Currently, we have theories on what could be the source of deaths and we continue to sample’ he said.
Meanwhile, Ntshebe stated that more than 130 elephants have died. However other sources state that the toll is now more than 160. Ntshebe revealed that the intensity of the discovery of the new carcasses has decreased adding that however, they continue to record few new cases.
Quelle: fb Gruß Gina
GinaChrisThemenstarter4'984 Beiträge · seit 201620. Juni 2020 · #9
Botswana Safari News 14 Std. · Ntshebe challenge international animal rights groups not just critisise but help The Wildlife Coordinator Dimakatso Ntshebe has challenged international animal rights to help with the resources to help investigate the mysterious death of elephants in the Okavango panhandle. Ntshebe's call come after an international animal rights group, Global March for Elephants and Rhinos Organization called on SADC to intervene in the ongoing investigation of the cause of deaths. The letter is co-signed by Rosemary Alles, Mergan Carr, Jodie Graham, Hale Anderson and Mariana Fernandes. In part the letter reads:" GMFER hereby officially requests the engagement and assistance of South Africa's Minister Barbara Creecy in her role as the incoming chair of the African Ministerial Conference on the environment; we respectfully request that Minister Creecy engage diplomatic ties to work with Botswana to immediately unravel the reasons (s) leading to mass deaths of elephants in the Okavango region." The letter says elephants migrate across national boarders frequently, entering and leaving neighbouring nations at will; studies reveal that the majority of Africas elephants cannot be categorically designated as the ' national property' of any nation. And as such the date of these animals and causal factors governing their deaths must be of international concern.' Ntshebe meanwhile denied seeing the letter nor knowledge of it. However he stated in the interview that Department of Wildlife and National Parks had left no stone unturned to investigate the deaths and they are still continuing to do so. According to Ntshebe its the first time the area is expiriencing mortalities at this magnitude and there is therefore challenges which would be overcame. ' we have investigated and sampled all the possibilities. We have sampled vegetation the elephants eat, water they drink and taken various samples from the carcasses Further we have spoken to to the community to ask them if there had been similar mortalities in history and the response we got was no." Further the preliminary results showed that anthrax did not cause the deaths. Ntshebe explained that the Department of Veterinary Services is currently undetaking further analysis of more collected samples and some would be sent to private labs for further analysis. Ntshebe stated that as department they are open to all the help in terms of resources and ideas to make a break through in the cases. The regional boss said they are experiencing resources shortages and anyone willing to assist government whether its an international NGO they are free to contact his office or any relevant government agency. However he said some local NGOs have already made proposal to help with air transportation and other resources in the ongoing investigation. He said the proposals are being considered by his superiors in Gaborone. Meanwhile as of today a total of 184 elephants have so far died in the panhandle since April. Ntshebe said however it looks like new cases have decreased as the carcasses they record are old.
GinaChrisThemenstarter4'984 Beiträge · seit 201602. Juli 2020 · #12
Gruß Gina
La Leona2'779 Beiträge · seit 200702. Juli 2020 · #13
Danke für die regelmässigen updates Gina. Mich erstaunt wie lange es gedauert hat die Proben an qualifizierte Labors zu senden. Spezialflüge, Spezialpermits, etc. waren ja immer auch während des lockdowns möglich. Wie einige NGO's es anstreben, bin auch ich dafür die Elefantenpopulationen nicht als Besitz eines jeweiligen Staates, sondern als länderübergreifendes Gut zu behandeln. Ich verfolge weiterhin die Ereignisse. Es ist ein grosses Rätsel warum diese Tiere plötzlich zusammenbrechen und sterben.
Gruss Leona
chrischris178 Beiträge · seit 202002. Juli 2020 · #14
Vom 23. August bis 6. September, 10. Oktober bis 18. Oktober 2026, 5. Dezember 2026 bis 17. Januar 2027 und 1. bis 30. Mai 2027 nicht/kaum im Forum aktiv!
Burschi4'140 Beiträge · seit 200903. Juli 2020 · #17
Danke für die Infos. Gibt es eigentlich eine Begründung dafür, dass es sich tatsächlich um eine außerordentliche Häufung von Todesfällen handelt und vor allem, wie unterscheidet man das von den „natürlichen Todesursachen“, wenn man jetzt ein einzelnes verendetes Tier im Busch findet? Elefanten werden wohl nicht immer nur an Altersschwäche sterben, sondern auch an „natürlichen“ Krankheiten. Die Zahlen, die da jetzt genannt werden sind ja (Gott sei Dank) nicht so dramatisch. Auf den Bildern sieht man auch meistens einzelne verendete Tiere. Für das östliche Panhandle wird eine Populationen von 15.000 bis 20.000 genannt. Eine 3 %-ige natürliche Todesrate pa ergäbe dann 450 bis 600 Tiere. Wobei das jetzige Geschehen viel kleinräumiger ist, das ist schon klar. Oder liegen die Zahlen wirklich so dramatisch über der normalen Sterblichkeit, dass man eine Seuchen oder unbekannte Krankheiten vermuten muss? Die Berichte dazu sind etwas diffus. Danke und Grüße, Werner PS Es muss übrigens nicht unbedingt eine Krankheit sein, auch die Nahrung kann tödlich sein. Erinnert sich noch wer an das "Kudusterben" im nördlichen SA? siehe z.B. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24997007?seq=1
GinaChrisThemenstarter4'984 Beiträge · seit 201617. Mai 2020 · #1
