During an ariel survey of a wildlife sanctuary in Botswana, members of the Elephants Without Borders team came across nearly 90 dead elephants who had their ivory removed by poachers.
“Carcases of nearly 90 elephants have been found near a famous wildlife sanctuary in Botswana,” conservationists said. According to the Elephants Without Borders, the scale of poaching deaths is the largest seen in Africa.
The scientist carrying out the extensive wildlife survey said many of the 87 dead elephants were killed for their tusks just weeks ago – and that five white rhinos have been poached in three months. “I’m shocked, I’m completely astounded. The scale of elephant poaching is by far the largest I’ve seen or read about anywhere in Africa to date,” Dr Mike Chase from Elephants Without Borders told the BBC.
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“When I compare this to figures and data from the Great Elephant Census, which I conducted in 2015, we are recording double the number of fresh poached elephants than anywhere else in Africa,” Chase added.
Botswana has the world’s largest elephant population, however poachers have been breaching its border. Despite a lack of fences on the international border, data from tracking collars showed elephants retreating from Angola, Namibia and Zambia and deciding to stay within the boundaries of Botswana where it was thought to be safe.
With 130,000 elephants, Botswana has been described as their last sanctuary in Africa as poaching for ivory continues to wipe out herds across the rest of the continent.