Officials are investigating the deaths of 15 elephants over the past month in Kenya’s Amboseli national park. Because when you're a 6-ton animal with no natural predators, the only thing left to worry about is whatever humans have left lying around.

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said 10 of the elephants showed signs of partial paralysis before dying within two days - which is nature's way of saying something is very wrong. The remaining five carcasses were too decomposed or had been scavenged, making a cause of death impossible to establish. So they're basically saying 'we have no idea, but it's probably not old age.'

Most of those affected were female elephants and their calves, with only one male among the dead. Because of course it's the mothers and babies - nature has a terrible sense of dramatic irony.

The deaths happened in the Kimana sanctuary and Kuku ranch areas surrounding the park. Kenya has previously recorded incidents of elephants being poisoned as a result of poaching and human-wildlife conflict - so the suspects are, as usual, 'people' and 'other people.'

Preliminary tests on samples collected from the elephants by a laboratory at the University of Nairobi detected a 'potential toxic substance,' while separate analyses by a government laboratory were negative for the toxins tested. So one lab says 'maybe poison,' the other says 'not these poisons,' and everyone says 'we need more tests.' This is the scientific method in all its glory.

KWS said further tests are under way. 'Environmental investigations are also being undertaken, including the analysis of water sources and other potential environmental contaminants within the affected areas, to establish whether the elephants were exposed to a common source.'

The authorities sought to reassure the public, saying there was no evidence the condition could be transmitted to humans. Which is nice, because the last thing we need is an elephant disease on top of everything else.

Amboseli is world-renowned for its herds of elephants and its savannah landscapes, with Kilimanjaro visible across the border in Tanzania. It is estimated there are about 2,000 elephants in the park - which is 1,985 more than we should be losing to mysterious toxins.