Elephants googling about

The garden of a pub in Wales is being dug over in search of the remains of a dead elephant. The, to me, most improbable part of this story is that the elephant is said to have died from lead poisoning from the polluted local water that it drank.

Is that possible? How much lead does it take to kill an elephant, or even to make it poorly?

A question which seems destined to remain unanswered, though I did find a reference to Lead Poisoning in Waterfowl (with a note on elephants) in the section on Diseases reported only from Experimental Infection, or as a Host with no Clinical Signs on the website of the Wildlife Information Network.

Elephants also figure – one as metaphor, one a soft toy - in two recent papers on still-existing concerns about lead poisoning in children in America.

We live & learn

Links
University archaeologists to dig for Tregaron elephant

University archaeologists start Tregaron elephant dig

Lead Poisoning in Waterfowl (with a note on elephants)

The elephant in the playground

“Edgar the Elephant” Educates Kansas Kids About Lead Poisoning


Related posts
Wild life in the garden

Barbara Clayton