The sudden death of hundreds of elephants in Botswana, which has the world's biggest population of the animals, was due to a neurotoxin in water holes, according to scientists.
The finding brings to an end months of speculation about why at least 330 elephants were found dead in a region of the country this year, with possible explanations ranging from anthrax to poisoning.
“We have a number of hypotheses we are working on,” said Mmadi Reuben, veterinary officer in the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, at a press conference. “Elephants are the only animals drinking below the surface of the water and sucking the silt, which is where these toxins reside.”
Botswana's 135,000 elephants have become a political issue because some people say there are too many. While they are a key part of a tourism industry that's usually worth $2 billion a year, they also sometimes eat the crops of villagers and a number of people have died due to encounters with the animals.
For more on the initial deaths, click here
The emergence of the toxin, produced by a cyanobacteria, could be due to a severe drought last year followed by good rains this season, said Cyril Taolo, deputy director of the department.
“When the pans dried at the end of June, the disease also ended,” Mmadi said. “The important thing is that investigations continue into why this happened so that going forward we can stop this from happening again in time.”
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