A herd of six elephants were found dead in a woodland close to Victoria Falls, possibly because of a massive lightning strike, local officials said Wednesday.
The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) is looking into the discovery of the six dead elephants in order to determine what caused their deaths.
The ivory was complete when the carcasses were discovered, said ZimParks spokesperson Tinashe Farawo
“We are investigating what killed these elephants. We have ruled out poaching, but we wonder if lightning struck them instead, Farawo said.
There are four adults and two calves among the six jumbos.
Seven elephants were also discovered dead in the Ngamo Forests between Hwange and Victoria Falls during the same time frame the previous year.
Zimbabwe is home to the second-largest population of elephants in the world, which is believed to number over 85 000.
