11 dead donkeys were found in Death Valley National Park, probably due to harmful algae at a spring

DEATH VALLEY, Calif. (KVVU/Gray News) – Death Valley National Park officials have declared a spring unsafe after 11 dead burros were found nearby.

According to a press release from the National Park Service, the feral donkeys were found dead near Owls Hole Spring in Death Valley National Park.

Although the cause of death is still under investigation, park officials suspect that a harmful algal bloom is responsible for the animals' deaths.

“I hate to see animals suffer,” Superintendent Mike Reynolds said in the press release.

The park administration said that although only dead donkeys were found, other animals in the area were probably affected.

They also reported that there were no pupfish, an endangered fish species found in Death Valley, in the spring.

In a press release, the park service said a warning sign has been posted at Owls Hole Spring to discourage visitors and their pets from drinking from or coming into contact with the water.

Visitors were also advised not to touch the carcasses or allow their pets to do so.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, algal and cyanobacterial blooms occur naturally in fresh, salt and brackish water.

Although not all flowers are harmful, some can be poisonous.

The CDC reported that harmful algal blooms are more likely to occur in warm, slow-moving waters that have high levels of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Environmental changes such as warmer weather can also worsen harmful algal blooms.

Park rangers said conditions were right for a harmful fungal bloom to form in the spring.

They said the water in the spring had become stagnant because Death Valley experienced its hottest summer on record this year and donkeys were known to defecate in and near the spring.

The park stated that donkeys are not native to Death Valley. The estimated 4,000 donkeys currently living in the park are said to be descendants of donkeys released by miners decades ago.

Reynolds said the National Park Service is working to remove and relocate the burros from the park “for their own safety and to reduce the impact on native wildlife.”

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