350 Elephants Dead in Botswana: Toxic Algae Blamed

Karmactive Staff

250 African elephants, an endangered species, in Botswana died in 2020 as a result of drastic shifts in environmental and climatic conditions.

Photo Source- Bruno Almeida (Pexels)

A team of scientists from Botswana and the UK, led by Dr. Davide Lomeo of King’s College London, has ruled climate change to be the cause of death of these elephants.

Photo Source- Commonwealth Secretariat (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Botswana experienced a dramatic shift from dry to wet climatic conditions between 2019 and 2020 leading to blooming of toxic algae.

Photo Source- hbieser (Pixabay)

Cyanobacteria are a group of highly toxic algae that was present in the twenty waterholes examined in the research study, which led to the death of the elephants.

Photo Source- Olusola (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Water holes are predicted to dry up across the region as weather in southern Africa becomes hotter and drier, leading to concerns regarding water security.

Photo Source- icelight (CC BY 2.0)

Davide Lomeo’s findings suggest such changes in the climate will affect water quantity, quality, and consequently, will have adverse effects on wildlife.

Photo Source- Sheila Brown (CC0 1.0)

Lomeo emphasises on the requirement of technological intervention such as satellites for comprehensive water quality surveillance across all water bodies.

Photo Source- Davide Lomeo/ Elsevier (CC BY 4.0)

Such drastic situations call for collaboration among scientists, local authorities, and environmentalists to safeguard natural resources and protect wildlife.

Photo Source-  John Englart (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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