Close monitoring continues after anthrax outbreak

Botswana wildlife officials raised the alarm recently after spotting dead hippos floating down the Okavango River from Namibia. Authorities in that country confirmed that the deadly disease had caused more than 100 deaths. In an interview at Mohembo ferry post, Blackbeard said on the Botswana side, officials have been collecting dead hippos and destroying them.

Officials have also sternly warned members of the public not to even touch the carcasses as they could contract the fatal disease. “So far we have recovered three carcasses along the river from Namibia while the water and crocodiles have destroyed others. At least nine hippos floated down this way. We are destroying the carcasses and burying them,” he said. Asked what could have caused the outbreak of anthrax in the region, Blackbeard said the occurrence was probably part of the normal natural cycle of diseases that break out when large animals migrate.