2026年7月29日 / 美国东部时间下午5:21 / 哥伦比亚广播公司/美联社
野生动物当局周三对当地媒体表示，过去一个月在肯尼亚南部死亡的15头大象疑遭氰化物污染的番茄下毒。
当局未透露他们怀疑是何人污染了安博塞利国家公园周边农场的番茄。过去曾有农民被怀疑故意下毒毒死大象，以防止它们啃食农作物。
这座肯尼亚南部的公园与农牧业十分普遍的地区接壤。
肯尼亚野生动物服务局总局长埃鲁斯图斯·坎加表示，初步实验室检测出了氰化物。“氰化物是一种剧毒化学品，对大象尤其危险，”坎加对当地媒体说道。
肯尼亚野生动物服务局警告称，此次污染可能会产生更广泛的后果，因为该地区也有牲畜在放牧。
“除了大象和可能在这些田地觅食的野生动物，还有当地的牲畜，包括山羊和牛。如果这确实是系统中存在的毒物，那么我们将看到更严重的影响，”坎加说道。
野生动物当局表示，在死亡大象体内发现的有毒物质不会立即对人类健康构成威胁。
据哥伦比亚广播公司新闻的合作媒体英国广播公司新闻报道，肯尼亚此前曾发生过因偷猎和人兽冲突导致大象中毒的事件。但官员们表示，数十年来该地区首次出现如此大规模的大象死亡事件。
Elephants that died in Kenya likely poisoned by cyanide-tainted tomatoes, authorities say
July 29, 2026 / 5:21 PM EDT / CBS/AP
Fifteen elephants that died over the past month in southern Kenya are suspected to have been poisoned by tomatoes contaminated by cyanide, wildlife authorities told local media Wednesday.
Authorities did not say who they suspected in the contamination of tomatoes from farms neighboring the Amboseli National Park. In the past, farmers have been suspected of deliberately poisoning elephants to prevent them from eating crops.
The park in southern Kenya borders an area where farming and the raising of livestock are prevalent.
Kenya Wildlife Service Director General Erustus Kanga said preliminary laboratory tests detected cyanide. “Cyanide is a highly toxic chemical, particularly for elephants,” Kanga told local media.
The Kenya Wildlife Service warned that the contamination could have wider consequences because livestock also graze in the area.
“Other than the elephants and the wildlife that may be feeding in those fields, we have the local livestock. We have the goats. We have the cattle that are there. Eventually, if this is truly what is in the system, then we are going to see a bigger impact,” Kanga said.
Wildlife authorities said the toxic substances found in the deceased elephants pose no immediate threat to human health.
Kenya has previously recorded incidents of elephants being poisoned as a result of poaching and human-wildlife conflict. But officials say it’s the first time in decades the region has recorded elephant deaths on this scale, according to CBS News’ partner networkBBC News.
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