In the African country of Botswana, home to more than 12,000 elephants, about 350 elephants have been found tilted during this short period. However, the cause of death was not known even after several tests, raising concerns in the area. In May, the government ruled out the possibility of ivory poaching as the horns had not been removed from the elephants. However, the Botswana government said at the time that the secret behind the deaths would be revealed only after detailed lab tests. The Botswana government’s forest department has confirmed the end of the mystery.
Horn hunters usually kill wild boars with cyanide. If the hunters had put in cyanide, the other creatures would have been killed. However, only the bodies of elephants were found here. It was also notable at the time that most of these elephants had fallen face down.
Cyanobacteria, one of the most naturally occurring toxins in local waters, have been linked to the deaths. These toxic substances, found in water, grow into blue and green algae. Mamie Ruben, Chief Veterinary Officer, Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks, at a news conference Guardian This was confirmed to a representative of the newspaper.
Since all the elephants were lying dead in the vicinity of the water bodies, a detailed investigation was carried out around them. Ruben also explained why only elephants die. While other animals lick the water from the surface, the elephants dive into the water with their trunks. In doing so, elephants are more likely to ingest these cyanobacterial algae than other animals. He said that these reservoirs would be monitored continuously to remove such toxins in a timely manner and to avoid such unfortunate deaths.
