Elephants are stealing the show this Giving Tuesday.
You might remember a mortality event in 2020 where roughly 350 elephants in Botswana and 35 elephants in Zimbabwe died under very puzzling circumstances. We simply didn’t know what was killing them.
A research project led by Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust’s veterinarian, Dr. Chris Fogin, determined that Bisgaard taxon 45 bacteria was to blame, causing blood poisoning and hemorrhaging in these individuals.
It was our Wildlife Forensics and Pathology Lab that played a key role in determining the cause of death of these individuals, and we’re now expanding our lab to accommodate a Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) MOU with Angola, Zambia, Namibia, and Botswana to collaboratively combat the illegal wildlife trade, prevent the spread of zoonotic diseases, react swiftly and effectively in response to unforeseen mortality events like with our elephants. The lab is also critical for our genetic sequencing that maintains the health of Zimbabwe’s growing rhino population and other endangered species.
Time’s running out for this amazing opportunity. Please rush to give a gift on this #GivingTuesday so that the future remains wild!
For Wild Africa,
Jessica Dawson CEO
One of the Zimbabwe elephants that died from hemorrhagic septicemia. We fear that if these environmental factors are worsened in a changing climate, we might see more sudden death mortality events.
Photograph: Dr. Chris Foggin, Senior Wildlife Veterinarian, VFWT
