"Zimbabwe's Elephant Deaths: The Mystery Unraveled"

The mystery behind the deaths of 35 African elephants in Zimbabwe has been solved. After ruling out poaching, starvation, and anthrax, researchers discovered a Pasteurella bacterium resembling Bisgaard taxon 45, which is known to cause infections in other wildlife but not African elephants. The elephants showed signs of hemorrhagic septicaemia, or blood poisoning, with ruptured blood vessels in multiple organs. The source of the infection and route of transmission remain unknown, but the researchers speculate that heat and drought conditions may have triggered the bacteria to become infectious or spread between elephants. This finding provides important insights for wildlife veterinarians and conservationists in diagnosing and addressing sudden mortality events in elephants.