Elephant deaths

Uncover the mystery of the massive elephant deaths in Botswana.

Elephant life

The Botswana Wildlife Service has revealed that hundreds of elephants that mysteriously died in the famous Okavango Delta were caused by poisoning by cyanobacteria.

This landlocked southern African country has the largest elephant population in the world, estimated at around 130,000 people.

Uncover the mystery and continue your search.

As noted in a report from the "Science Alert" website, since last March, more than 300 of these thick-skinned animals have died under mysterious circumstances, and their intact tusks have ruled out the possibility that the hunters killed them.

"The deaths were the result of poisonings from cyanobacteria growing in ponds or water pits," Maddy Robin, chief veterinarian of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, told reporters on Monday.

The first report of unusual elephant deaths was identified on April 25 near the village of Seronga, and numbers started to rise the following month. Robin said the dead "stopped at the end of June 2020 as the pools dried up."

According to wildlife authorities, around 330 animals died and blood tests were consistent with the discovery that a type of neurotoxin-producing cyanobacteria was the cause. The tests were carried out in specialized laboratories in South Africa, Canada, Zimbabwe, and the United States.

Cyril Taullo, deputy director of Botswana's wildlife and national parks department, said officials ruled out anthrax infection and also ruled out human involvement in poaching. The government said it was continuing studies on the emergence of the bacteria.