Mystery of hundreds of Elephant deaths in Botswana solved

September 23, 2020 at 12:04 AM

The sudden deaths of some 330 elephants in northwestern Botswana earlier this year may have occurred because they drank water contaminated by toxic blue-green algae, the government announced Monday.

The elephants in the Seronga area died from a neurological disorder that appears to have been caused by drinking water tainted by “a toxic bloom of cyanobacterium in seasonal pans (water sources) in the region,” said Cyril Taolo, acting Director of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks.

The unexplained deaths ceased after the water pans dried up, said Taolo, in a press conference in Gaborone, the capital. (AP)