Botswana: Lab tests to solve mystery of hundreds of dead elephants

They subsequently auctioned off permits to hunt elephants. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-51413420

There are other things which point to something other than poaching.

"It is only elephants that are dying and nothing else," Dr McCann said. "If it was cyanide used by poachers, you would expect to see other deaths." Dr McCann has also tentatively ruled out natural anthrax poisoning, which killed at least 100 elephants in Botswana last year.

But they have been unable to rule out either poisoning or disease. The way the animals appear to be dying - many dropping on their faces - and sightings of other elephants walking in circles points to something potentially attacking their neurological systems, Dr McCann said.

- TFA

- Half of all Saiga antelopes (120k) died over a month, 2015 [1]

- Recent unexplained dog deaths in Norway, 2019 [2]

- The ongoing white nose syndrome epidemic that's ravaging bat populations in North America [3]

- Gray whales beaching themselves all along US West Coast, 2019 [4]

- Ongoing, mass die-off of about 30% of frog and other amphibian species in the New World caused by a fungus [5]

Not to mention the commonly noted large decline in insect populations and colony collapse disorder in bees.

It seems that the proximate causes for these events are varied, but the sheer pace, magnitude, and number of affected species should hint that this is ultimately caused by downstream impacts of rapid changes in the environment precipitated by climate change.

One factor that I'm betting will eventually be implicated in many animal die-offs are biotoxins created by algae and molds. Many algaes and mold species are capable of creating toxins, but are normally non-toxic. However, under environmental stress and disruption, they can quickly produce a wide variety of nasty toxins. These biotoxins tend to target the nervous system, the immune system, and cell metabolism.

For example, seafood harvesting has been stopped with increasing frequency in Northern California in the last decade due to high domoic acid levels [6]. Many lakes were closed in the Bay Area due to cyanotoxins potentially poisoning dogs and people.

> The way the animals appear to be dying - many dropping on their faces - and sightings of other elephants walking in circles points to something potentially attacking their neurological systems, Dr McCann said.

Top photo on the article looks like a lake undergoing an algal bloom, so potentially elephants are dying from ingested neurotoxins.

Unfortunately for us, harmful algae blooms seem to be increasing in frequency [7] and potentially affecting human health.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saiga_antelope#2015%E2%80%9320...

[2] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49627463

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-nose_syndrome#Cause

[4] https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-life-distress...

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chytridiomycosis

[6] https://caseagrant.ucsd.edu/project/frequently-asked-questio...

[7] https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Judith_ONeil/publicatio...