PORT ELIZABETH: South African wildlife authorities said on Friday they have found dozens of dead jackals at a popular game park in the country’s “worst” ever incident of poisoning.

Game rangers have found over 40 dead animals, mostly jackals, but also mongeese, foxes and crows in the Addo Elephant National Park, and many more are feared dead.

The motive of the killings are not known, but authorities suspect foul play and have launched an investigation to try to find the culprits.

“This is the worst incident of malicious poisoning of animals inside any national park in South Africa,” the park’s conservation manager John Adendorff said.

“So far we have found 36 jackals, three crows, two yellow mongoose and two bat-eared foxes.” Jackals have in the past been found caught in wire snares amid complaints by local farmers that they prey on their sheep and goats.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2014