What's Killing the Elephants?

[Nobel Hobos 2]

Could either be disease, environmental issues (lack of food, water or some other anomaly) or a serious spike in poaching. Definitely shitty whatever it is that's doing this.

Probably not poaching. Or else poachers would have moved in to take the tusks.

Lack of food? I'm seeing a full-sized elephant in at least one of the pictures.

Poisoning of the water (deliberate or accidental), or disease, then.

One of the elephants is pictured dead at a water-hole, which is obviously saline. Maybe elephants are like people, and they will drink poisonously saline water if they're very thirsty. ?

[Thepeopl]

It could be the African version of this amoebe.

https://cbs12.com/news/local/a-rare-cas ... in-florida

[Nobel Hobos 2]

It could be the African version of this amoebe.

https://cbs12.com/news/local/a-rare-cas ... in-florida

It could be ...

"Adverse health effects on humans can be prevented by avoiding nasal contact with the waters since the amoeba enters through nasal passages," the DOH said.

The DOH recommended people avoid bodies of warm freshwater around power plants and shallow freshwater during periods of high water temperature. They should pinch their nose when playing in warm freshwater.

The DOH also noted that you could possibly be exposed to the amoeba through a neti pot when rinsing congested sinuses.

"Use only boiled and cooled, distilled, or sterile water for making sinus rinse solutions for neti pots or performing ritual ablutions," it said.

... particularly with the habit of elephants to suck water up their trunks.

[Atheris]

Botulism or disease. Likely some sort of new parasite or maybe a prion from the water? Hard to tell.

It could be the African version of this amoebe.

https://cbs12.com/news/local/a-rare-cas ... in-florida

It could be ...

"Adverse health effects on humans can be prevented by avoiding nasal contact with the waters since the amoeba enters through nasal passages," the DOH said.

The DOH recommended people avoid bodies of warm freshwater around power plants and shallow freshwater during periods of high water temperature. They should pinch their nose when playing in warm freshwater.

The DOH also noted that you could possibly be exposed to the amoeba through a neti pot when rinsing congested sinuses.

"Use only boiled and cooled, distilled, or sterile water for making sinus rinse solutions for neti pots or performing ritual ablutions," it said.

... particularly with the habit of elephants to suck water up their trunks.

That's a highly likely possibility.

[Asle Leopolka]

I wouldn't be surprised if it were the elephants inadvertently killing themselves

https://theconversation.com/too-many-el ... elp-112645

Or maybe, just maybe, Botswana lifting their elephant hunting ban may have something to do with this:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/0 ... imals-pet/

[Atheris]

I wouldn't be surprised if it were the elephants inadvertently killing themselves

https://theconversation.com/too-many-el ... elp-112645

Or maybe, just maybe, Botswana lifting their elephant hunting ban may have something to do with this:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/0 ... imals-pet/

If they were hunted, the tusks would be missing. Elephants are hunted for ivory.

[Novus America]

Africa is overpopulated and its governments trash their own environment, leading to habitat loss and conditions that reduce fertility.

Africa is the most underpopulated continent It has a little more than 1 billion people, yet it is the second largest by land area.

Now that I have read the article, prions sounds like a possible culprit, and some fungi can also damage the brain. Mad elephants disease...

Could such prions be transmittable to humans? If so, could we be in danger? Prions are no joke.

Actually no, South America, North America and Australia all have significantly lower population densities than Africa. That being said Europe and Asia have higher population densities. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.worlda ... nsity.html

Although simply using population per land area is not a great measure.
Saudis Arabia has less than half the per land population density than the US for example yet is far less less sufficient in terms of food and natural water.

It depends on how able the land is able to support a human population.

Of course treating Africa as a single entity is a mistake. Some African countries are over populated and others are not. Africa is very diverse.

[Major-Tom]

Africa is overpopulated and its governments trash their own environment, leading to habitat loss and conditions that reduce fertility.

Botswana is so sparsely populated and their habitats are actually quite well-protected by the Botswanan government. Conflating the relatively well-off nation of Botswana with other Sub-Saharan African nations just isn't an apt comparison here.

That's why this is especially concerning, because if there's no indication it was poachers, nor any valid reason for anyone to poison a bunch of elephants, then how the fuck? It's likely a disease, imho.

[Asle Leopolka]

I wouldn't be surprised if it were the elephants inadvertently killing themselves

https://theconversation.com/too-many-el ... elp-112645

Or maybe, just maybe, Botswana lifting their elephant hunting ban may have something to do with this:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/0 ... imals-pet/

If they were hunted, the tusks would be missing. Elephants are hunted for ivory.

And for population control (see the first article, plus the numerous studies corroborating it).

[Greed and Death]

Well this is sad, but if the elephants no longer need their tusk I would like to claim them.

[Senkaku]

Was hoping if 2020 brought elephants into the story it would be more along the lines of them becoming superintelligent and ushering humanity offstage at the business end of a lunar mass driver

But no, instead we just get this sad shit

[Thepeopl]

https://adventureblog.net/2020/07/nat-g ... swana.html

It looks like we'll get an answer shortly.