Eleven elephants were found dead in the Pandamasue Forest, Hwange/Victoria Falls Protected Area in the western part of Zimbabwe on Friday.
This was revealed by the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) on Saturday.
The ZIMPARKS spokesperson Tinashe Farawo said the animal health authorities were deployed to the scene to conduct investigations to determine the cause of death of the elephants.
Mr Farawo said “The elephants were found dead in Pandamasue Forest. Zimparks suspects anthrax. Veterinary doctors are on the ground. We are waiting for results from the laboratory.”
The elephants’ tusks aren’t missing, which rules out poaching for ivory.
The Zimbabwean case have parallels to what happened in Botswana recently where elephants died mysteriously.
In the Botswana case it was reported that, these elephants walk in circles and appear dizzy before suddenly dropping dead, sometimes face-first. No one knows why.
According to the Botswana sources, the bizarre behavior and sheer number of deaths suggest to experts that it’s unlikely that diseases known to afflict wild elephants, such as tuberculosis, are to blame.