The cause of the mysterious elephant massacre in Botswana has been discovered: it would be a natural toxin

Behind the mysterious elephant slaughter in Botswana may be a natural toxin found in waterways

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

Remember the mysterious elephant slaughter in Botswana? After ruling out poaching and anthrax, wildlife conservators are now advancing a new hypothesis about these suspicious deaths: They could be due to a naturally occurring toxin.

We already talked about it, Botswana's elephants are dying. Hundreds of them had been found lying on the ground in Botswana's Okavango Delta. Poaching was immediately ruled out since their fangs were intact, as well as that of a new virus that was killing the pachyderms. The anthrax hypothesis was also unmatched, so wildlife conservatives have been investigating for months.

It is not poachers who kill elephants in Botswana. And this worries the experts even more ...

As we know, the southern African country has the largest elephant population in the world, estimated at around 130, and more than 300 are from March to today.
"Preliminary tests conducted in various countries have not been entirely conclusive and others are underway," said Cyril Taolo, head of the wildlife and parks department.

"But based on some of the preliminary results we've received, we're looking at naturally occurring toxins as the potential cause," he said.

So, even if the investigation has not reached a final stage, the researchers speak of natural toxins found in water. The samplings did not show anomalies or the presence of pollutants, but the elephants may have ingested a type of bacteria that become toxic in stagnant waters.

The deaths were first reported by a wildlife conservation charity, Elephants Without Borders (EWB) which noted that the elephants had become weak, lethargic and emaciated and some, were showing signs of disorientation, difficulty walking. or limped.

Preliminary tests to explain the reason for hundreds of mysterious elephant deaths in Botswana point to a naturally occurring toxin as a probable cause, a senior wildlife official told Reuters. https://t.co/coGbi3S8Sl pic.twitter.com/sSkGAwTFg5

— Reuters Africa (@ReutersAfrica) July 31, 2020

"Our main focus now is the study of broader environmental factors such as toxins naturally produced by bacteria found in the environment, such as water bodies."

For this, the government had sent samples to laboratories in Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the United States for testing. From those received, namely those of bacterial detection and toxicology in Botswana, histopathology tests in South Africa and bacterial detection and histopathology tests in Zimbabwe, we have arrived at this new hypothesis, even if toxicologists from South Africa are still expected.

“It's an elimination game where we start testing the most common causes and then move on to the less common ones. We must therefore verify and confirm these results from various laboratory tests, but that of the natural toxin is a viable path ".

Fonte: Reuters/Science Alert