Four Zimbabwe rhinos die after drinking polluted water
HARARE—Four white rhinos have died in Zimbabwe after drinking from a sewage-polluted lake that is also the main supplier of water to the nearby capital, the wildlife authority said on Saturday.
Three zebra, four wildebeest, four fish eagles and several goats and cattle also died over the past week after drinking from Lake Chivero, 30 kilometers from Harare, a spokesperson told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The animals had been poisoned by cyanobacteria, which is also toxic to humans.
“Cyanobacteria is caused by water pollution,” ZimParks spokesperson Tinashe Farawo told AFP. “Pollution keeps increasing in Lake Chivero where the Harare city council is depositing raw sewage.”
Hot and dry
ZimParks relocated the remaining rhinos from the Lake Chivero Recreational Park to avoid further deaths, he said.
Authorities do not give figures for the numbers of white and endangered black rhinos in the country’s game reserves for security reasons, with the animals targeted by poachers.
ZimParks had tried to stop the wildlife from reaching the polluted water but it had been difficult amid the hot, dry conditions.
