Botswana Blames Poisonous Algae for Elephant Deaths
2020-09-23
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1The deaths of hundreds of elephants in Botswana earlier this year may have been the result of the animals drinking water containing poisonous blue-green algae.
2Algae are simple plants with no leaves or stems that grow in or near water.
3About 330 elephants in the northwestern Seronga area died from a neurological condition.
4The cause appeared to be drinking toxic water, said Cyril Taolo.
5He is acting director of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks.
6A toxic flowering of "cyanobacterium" was found in seasonal water sources in the area.
7Botswana's government announced the finding Monday.
8The unexplained deaths stopped after the water sources, or pans, dried up, Taolo told reporters in Botswana's capital of Gaborone.
9The Seronga area is close to Botswana's famous Okavango Delta.
10No other wildlife species were affected by the toxic water.
11Even animals like hyenas and vultures that were observed feeding on the elephant bodies showed no signs of illness, Taolo said.
12Botswana has the world's largest elephant population.
13An estimated 130,000 elephants can be found in the country.
14The animals bring many international tourists to Botswana.
15Both male and female elephants of all ages died.
16The deaths happened mainly near seasonal water pans.
17The incidents did not spread outside the affected area, Taolo said.
18After the mysterious deaths of the elephants, the government carried out extensive tests.
19The aim was to find out why the animals had died.
20The test results suggested that the elephants died from cyanobacterium, or blue-green algae, poisoning.
21Taolo said neurotoxins from cyanobacteria living in affected water could have affected the brain signals of an animal.
22This might have caused paralysis and death, mostly related to breathing failure.
23However, Taolo could not explain why the toxins did not affect any other animals drinking the affected water.
24He also said that there was no evidence of human efforts to kill the elephants through poisoning, hunting or other methods.
25Talo said the government will immediately put in place a plan to examine seasonal water sources often.
26It will create methods for measuring and testing for toxins produced by cyanobacteria.
27I'm Ashley Thompson.
1The deaths of hundreds of elephants in Botswana earlier this year may have been the result of the animals drinking water containing poisonous blue-green algae. Algae are simple plants with no leaves or stems that grow in or near water. 2About 330 elephants in the northwestern Seronga area died from a neurological condition. The cause appeared to be drinking toxic water, said Cyril Taolo. He is acting director of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks. A toxic flowering of "cyanobacterium" was found in seasonal water sources in the area. 3Botswana's government announced the finding Monday. 4The unexplained deaths stopped after the water sources, or pans, dried up, Taolo told reporters in Botswana's capital of Gaborone. 5The Seronga area is close to Botswana's famous Okavango Delta. 6No other wildlife species were affected by the toxic water. Even animals like hyenas and vultures that were observed feeding on the elephant bodies showed no signs of illness, Taolo said. 7Botswana has the world's largest elephant population. An estimated 130,000 elephants can be found in the country. The animals bring many international tourists to Botswana. 8Both male and female elephants of all ages died. The deaths happened mainly near seasonal water pans. The incidents did not spread outside the affected area, Taolo said. 9After the mysterious deaths of the elephants, the government carried out extensive tests. The aim was to find out why the animals had died. The test results suggested that the elephants died from cyanobacterium, or blue-green algae, poisoning. 10Taolo said neurotoxins from cyanobacteria living in affected water could have affected the brain signals of an animal. This might have caused paralysis and death, mostly related to breathing failure. 11However, Taolo could not explain why the toxins did not affect any other animals drinking the affected water. He also said that there was no evidence of human efforts to kill the elephants through poisoning, hunting or other methods. 12Talo said the government will immediately put in place a plan to examine seasonal water sources often. It will create methods for measuring and testing for toxins produced by cyanobacteria. 13I'm Ashley Thompson. 14The Associated Press reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 15________________________________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17neurological -adj. related to the nervous system which includes the brain, spinal cord and nerves 18toxic -adj. containing a poisonous substance 19source -n. the beginning of a river or stream, a place where water can be found 20delta -n. a triangular area on a river where it widens and usually flows into the ocean 21tourist -n. a person who travels for pleasure 22paralysis -n. the inability to move a limb or body