NEWS
Revealed : How 350 elephants in Botswana mysteriously died three months ago
Abhishek Sharma
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The mystery of the death of about 300 elephants a few months ago has been finally resolved . Termed as ' mysterious mass die-off ', the deaths were reported in elephants of all ages and both sexes .
A Guardian report in May had said that a cluster of elephant deaths was first reported in the Okavango Delta , with 169 dead by the end of the month . By June , the number more than doubled . 70 per cent of the deaths were clustered around waterholes . The number of deaths now stands at 350 , according to reports .
“ This is a mass die-off on a level that hasn ’ t been seen in a very , very long time . Outside of drought , I don ’ t know of a die-off that has been this significant ,” Guardian had quoted Dr Niall McCann , the director of conservation at UK-based charity National Park Rescue as saying .
At that time , no one knew the reason behind the deaths as the Botswana government had said that it hadn ' t tested any samples .
However , it has now been revealed that toxins in water produced by cyanobacteria killed the elephants , officials said , announcing the result of an investigation into the deaths which had baffled and alarmed conservationists .
Cyanobacteria are microscopic organisms common in water and sometimes found in soil .
Not all produce toxins but scientists say toxic ones are occurring more frequently as climate change drives up global temperatures .
Cyril Taolo , deputy director of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks , told a news conference the number of
Figure 1 : A combination photo shows dead elephants in Okavango Delta , Botswana May-June , 2020 . Source : Handout via REUTERS
elephant carcasses found since deaths were first reported around early May had risen to 330 , from 281 in July .
“ What we just know at this point is that it ’ s a toxin caused by cyanobacteria ,” said Taolo , adding the specific type of neurotoxin had yet to be established .
Authorities will monitor the situation during the next rainy season , and Taolo said , for now , there was no evidence to suggest that Botswana ’ s wildlife was still under threat as officials were no longer seeing deaths .
The department ’ s principal veterinary officer Mmadi Reuben told the same news conference that questions remained as to why only elephants had been affected .
Other animals in the Okavango Panhandle region appeared unharmed .
Grassroots Vol 20 No 4 December 2020 16