21st September 2020
Sello Motseta
The acting Director of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks has today revealed that there are no other species which has been affected by the high mortality of elephants dying in the Seronga area including scavengers observed feeding on affected elephant carcasses.
This conclusion follows an alarmingly high elephant mortality rate recorded in the Ngamiland District in Botswana in mid-April, with an estimated 330 (± 45) animals dying inexplicably.
Death was acute, affecting both sexes and all ages with clinical signs limited to neurologic symptoms. Cases were mainly located near seasonal water pans and limited to a prescribed region of the elephant population range, without spreading beyond the initially affected region.
“Neurologic signs were reversed in an animal receiving an opiate antagonist during field immobilization, suggesting the clinical signs arose from some process affecting the animal’s neurologic receptors,” said Cyril Taolo the acting Director of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks.
He said, “The high mortality of elephants in this region ceased with the drying of the seasonal pans. Mortality event characteristics and the field, clinical, postmortem, histopathological, and laboratory findings suggest the elephants died from neurotoxic cyanobacterium (blue-green alga) toxicosis associated with a toxic bloom of cyanobacterium in seasonal pans in the region.”
Taolo maintained neurotoxins from cyanobacteria living in contaminated water could have affected the transmission of neurologic signals within an animal, causing paralysis and death, predominately related to respiratory failure.
He however could not explain why these so called toxins did not affect other any animals drinking affected water and also ruled out human efforts like anthrax, poaching and sabotage.
Nor was he prepared to discuss the possibility that the Khama’s miffed by disarming of anti-poaching unit could have been involved in efforts to cause instability in Botswana. He also refused to discuss the possibility of agent provocateurs using substances like nerve gas to kill elephants in area.
According to officials the area had also been affected by extreme drought conditions in the previous year. These environmental, ecological, and behavioral factors are thought to have contributed to the occurrence of this mortality event. Officials however could not provide any such links for this theory.
“A monitoring plan of seasonal water-pans on a regular basis to track such future occurrences will be instituted immediately and will also include capacity building to monitor and test for toxins produced building to monitor and test for toxins produced by cyanobacteria,” said Taolo.
