BBC News Online: World: Africa

Warning over Flamingo deaths

The World Wide Fund for Nature has expressed concern over mysterious deaths of flamingos in western Kenya.

Large number of birds have been found dead on the shores of lakes Nakuru and Bogoria during the past week.

A WWF official in Kenya says the exact cause of the deaths has not been established, but researchers investigating similar flamingo deaths in the region have found traces of several toxins and pesticides in the bodies.

A recent study by a South African scientist said the flamingo population in Africa had declined by 20% during the past two decades.

The WWF official warned that, if remedial action was not taken, the entire Flamingo population in Africa could be lost within one-hundred years.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service