Botswana Blames Poisonous Algae for Elephant Deaths
非洲小国博茨瓦纳有毒藻类致象群死亡
The 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.
今年早些时候非洲国家博茨瓦纳数百头大象死亡或是由于饮用了含有有毒蓝藻的水。藻类是没有茎或叶生长在近水处或水中的简单植物。
About 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.
西里尔·陶洛称，西北部塞龙加地区大约有330头大象死于神经系统疾病，诱因似乎是饮用了有毒的水。他是野生生物和国家公园部的代理主管。而人们在该地区的季节性水源中发现一种有毒的“蓝藻”。
Botswana’s government announced the finding Monday.
周一博茨瓦纳政府宣布了这一发现。
The unexplained deaths stopped after the water sources, or pans, dried up, Taolo told reporters in Botswana’s capital of Gaborone.
陶洛在博茨瓦纳首都哈博罗内对记者说，不明原因的象群死亡在水源枯竭后停止了。
The Seronga area is close to Botswana’s famous Okavango Delta.
塞龙加地区靠近博茨瓦纳著名的奥卡万戈三角洲。
No 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.
没有其他野生动物物种受到有毒水源的影响。陶洛称，即使是那些被发现以大象尸体为食的鬣狗和秃鹫等动物也没有出现疾病症状。
Botswana 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.
博茨瓦纳是世界上大象数量最多的国家。据估计，该国拥有13万头大象。许多游客为此慕名而来博茨瓦纳旅游。
Both 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.
死亡的大象中有公象有母象且涵盖了各个年龄段的大象。象群死亡主要发生在季节性水域附近。陶洛表示，象群死亡事件并没有蔓延到灾区以外。
After 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.
大象神秘死亡后，政府进行了广泛的测试，企图找出这些动物死亡的原因。测试结果表明大象死于蓝藻中毒。
Taolo 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.
陶洛说，生活在受影响水域的蓝藻产生的神经毒素可能影响了大象的大脑信号。而这可能会导致瘫痪和死亡——主要由呼吸衰竭引发的死亡。
However, 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.
然而，陶洛无法解释为何这种毒素没有影响其他饮用受影响水源的动物。他还说，没有证据表明是人类试图通过投毒、狩猎或其他方法杀死了象群。
Talo 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.
陶洛表示，政府将立即制定一项时常检测季节性水源的计划，并会制作出测量和检测蓝藻毒素的方法。
I’m Ashley Thompson.
阿什利·汤普森报道。
Botswana Blames Poisonous Algae for Elephant Deaths
The 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.
About 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.
Botswana’s government announced the finding Monday.
The unexplained deaths stopped after the water sources, or pans, dried up, Taolo told reporters in Botswana’s capital of Gaborone.
The Seronga area is close to Botswana’s famous Okavango Delta.
No 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.
Botswana 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.
Both 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.
After 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.
Taolo 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.
However, 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.
Talo 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.
I’m Ashley Thompson.
内容来自 VOA英语学习网：https://www.chinavoa.com/show-8789-242656-1.html
