In Botswana, the cause of the mysterious death of more than 350 elephants in 2020 was discovered. The study showed that the animals died due to toxic cyanobacteria in watering holes, which is associated with climate change.
More than 350 elephants that died under mysterious circumstances are likely drinking toxic water, according to a new article warning of a "worrying trend" in climate-related poisoning. This is reported by The Guardian, writes UNN.
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According to scientists, elephants of different ages walked in circles before falling and dying. The carcasses were first spotted in northeastern Botswana in May and June 2020, and many theories have been put forward about the cause of death, including cyanide poisoning or an unknown disease.
According to lead researcher David Lomeo, a graduate student in geography at King's College London, the incident was the largest recorded elephant death, the cause of which is unknown.
A new paper published in the journal Science Of The Total Environment suggests that elephants were poisoned with water containing toxic flowers of blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria. The climate crisis increases the intensity and severity of harmful algae blooms.
The researchers used satellite data to analyze the distribution of corpses relative to watering holes. The team estimates that elephants typically walked just over 100 km from watering holes and died within 88 hours of drinking. In total, they examined 3,000 watering holes and found that those with increased cyanobacteria blooms in 2020 had a high concentration of corpses.
They have no choice but to drink from them,
– said the researcher.
Other animals may have died from drinking from watering holes, but the bodies may not have been detected during aerial photography, and smaller corpses may have already been taken away by predators.
The researchers also said that globally, the event highlights an alarming trend of sudden climate-related illnesses.
This study provides a compelling explanation for the massive elephant deaths that rocked the world in 2020. This adds to a growing body of evidence that climate change can have a number of deadly consequences for wildlife (as well as livestock and humans), from radically changing water availability to creating conditions for harmful bacteria and algae to breed and suppressing animal populations.,
"said Dr Niall McCann, who was not involved in the study and is director of conservation at the British charity National Park Rescue.
The researchers stressed that the study highlights the need for water quality control.
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