Tsavo East National Park Waterholes are vital to the African ecosystem as bustling oases where elephants, lions, leopards and hundreds of other species meet and compete for water. But little is known about how they support so much life. Why don't animals get sick from filthy, shrinking water holes in Africa? Elephants, crocodiles and other animals can tolerate bacteria — but only to a point, says wildlife vet. They don't always get sick, though, and that could be due to a few things. For one, according to Dr. Charlene Berkvens, associate veterinarian at the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg, what looks like a bacteria-ridden or feces-infested pond may in reality be primarily composed of dirt, mineral and non-disease causing organisms. Wild animals may get exposed to low levels of these organisms through the course of their lives and build up immunity. But watering holes can be a significant source of disease in wildlife in these places, said Berkvens. The congregation of a large number of animals from different locations at these watering holes, especially during droughts, can lead to the spread of infectious diseases such as viruses. Some diseases have been linked to these locations in some instance, including anthrax. It's one of the classical bacterial diseases that can be fatal in a wide variety of species including people. In 2020 hundreds of elephants died in Botswana as the result of exposure to neurotoxins produced by blue-green algae in watering holes. In some instances contaminated water can be a serious treat to wildlife, and climate change has the potential to worsen these effects.
Tsavo West National Park
