BY MOSES MATENGA ELEVEN more elephants were on Tuesday found dead in the Pandamasue forest between Hwange National Park and Victoria Falls, bringing the total number to 22, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) confirmed yesterday. ZimParks spokesperson Tinashe Farawo said investigations into the cause of deaths were continuing, adding they suspected the jumbos succumbed to a bacterial infection.He said starvation as a result of overpopulation and drought could be another possibility, but ruled out cyanide poisoning. “We have now lost 22 elephants. We did an aerial survey on Tuesday and discovered other dead elephants,” Farawo said. “We will continue to carry out surveillance through the air and deploying drones to see the general area and find what is happening. Indications are showing bacteria which we are suspecting as causing the death of these elephants although we are still waiting for further tests.” “What we have done also is to burn the carcasses of the elephants so that we avoid the spread of diseases. We are exploring the possibility of an independent laboratory to do further tests,” Farawo said. “The problem is overpopulation of elephants. If they are overpopulated, they then tend to overgraze or overeat. If you look at it, the animals which as succumbing are young and some might not even reach for higher branches. Because there is no food, they end up eating anything and some plants may be poisonous. “The elephants are dying within the proximity of the waterhole in that general area, but the biggest threat to the survival of our elephants is loss of habitat. In the drier months of the year, we are likely to have more problems.” Neighbouring Botswana has, in the past weeks, recorded 275 mysterious elephant deaths.Botswana has the world’s largest elephant population, estimated at 156 000, and Zimbabwe comes second with 85 000.