Mystery illness killing Kruger’s crocs - thetimes.co.za

Aug 10, 2008
The Kruger National Park’s crocodiles are dying of a mystery illness and scientists believe that many more will join the 130 that have died since the end of May.

Researchers and veterinarians have teamed up with academics to try to understand why the reptiles have been dying in the Olifants and Letaba rivers.

This week the team conducted postmortems on several carcasses found along the river banks and captured 11 live crocodiles . The scientists believe the crocodiles died of pansteatitis, a condition usually associated with the consumption of rotten fish. But there have been no reports of dying fish, leaving the experts baffled .

“A new theory being investigated is that because the live crocodiles are preying on the carcasses of the dead ones, they are getting infected ,” said Danie Pienaar, the park’s head of Scientific Services.
Karen van Rooyen