DEAD ON THE WATER Suspected anthrax outbreak in Namibia sees 100 dead hippos covered in bruises and unexplained marks in river

The reason for the deaths are a mystery but local alerts have blamed the serious bacterial disease anthrax

Hundreds of Namibians have been received injects to prevent them from catching the bacterial disease

"When we woke up a few mornings after, there was a dead hippo in the river in front of the camp, and the others had all moved further away from us, but I just assumed it was a one-off.

"We left camp and entered the part of the park closest to us and soon found that it was far from being a one-off – we were right in the middle of the outbreak.

"It was a devastating sight, especially as there were hippos that were still alive but could do nothing to assist their family."

The hippo population in Namibia was estimated at 1,300 before the deaths.

Anthrax has been weaponised by a number of countries and been responsible for several high-profile poisoning cases.