The Ministry of Environment and Tourism through the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) has confirmed rising cases of elephant poaching in Botswana.

In a press release the Ministry has just informed the general public that the country experienced a surge in elephant poaching incidents during the months of November and December 2023.

The release states that about 64 tusks were recovered from transnational poachers intercepted in both Botswana and Namibia. A Joint investigation is currently ongoing.

The release stated that DWNP and other law enforcement agencies are still verifying the proportion of tusks from poached animals against those that died due to natural causes.

‘’As such the number of tusks recovered does not translate into the number of animals poached. Furthermore, the government has significantly increased the number of patrol teams in the area, including joint patrols and information sharing between the two countries.

A week back Africa, Geographic reported that there were at least four separate incidents within ten days this past month, where arrests were made in Namibia of poaching groups smuggling tusks.

Seizures totalled up to at least 68 elephant tusks weighing almost a ton. Arrests occurred in Namibia’s Zambezi region, which borders Botswana and Zambia.  Most tusks allegedly came from elephants recently poached in Botswana.

The publication reported that in one of the incidents ‘officials acted on information that the Zambezi region is being used as a transit route to smuggle the tusks of poached elephants from Botswana to Zambia.’