Zimbabwe plans to send dead elephants' brain tissue to U.S. for toxin tests

FILE PHOTO: A group of elephants are seen near a watering hole inside Hwange National Park, in Zimbabwe, October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo/File Photo

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe plans to send brain tissue samples from dead elephants to the United States to test for toxic micro-organisms blamed for hundreds of elephant deaths in neighbouring Botswana, the parks authority said.

Thirty-four elephants have died in western Zimbabwe since Aug. 24, Parks and Wildlife Management Authority director general Fulton Mangwanya told a parliamentary committee in a statement on Monday.