Botswana investigates 11 new elephant deaths
The deaths come months after hundreds of elephants were killed after ingesting toxic microorganisms
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Botswana is investigating the deaths of 11 elephants at one of its game reserves, months after hundreds of elephants died from ingesting toxic microorganisms.
The latest deaths occurred in the Moremi Game Reserve, a statement from the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, Conservation and Tourism said, ruling out suspicions of poaching as the tusks of the elephants were found intact.
The Moremi reserve lies about 100 kilometres east of Seronga, where last year's deaths were reported.
Over a period of several weeks starting in May, 330 elephants were found dead under mysterious circumstances near the fringes of the Okavango Delta, one of the continent's premier tourist destinations for wildlife lovers.
The government was under huge pressure from conservationists to find out what had killed the animals.
In September, it released a report that pointed to toxic microorganisms called cyanobacteria as the cause of death.
Not all cyanobacteria are toxic but scientists say the poisonous ones are occurring more frequently as climate change drives up global temperatures.
"A team has been deployed into the area to undertake aerial surveys and sample the carcasses," the environment ministry said.
Officials said in September they would monitor the situation during the rainy season, as they had not understood why only elephants were affected by the toxins in water.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments