In a bizarre mishap that conservationists describe as “heartbreaking,†an estimated 10,000 wildebeest have drowned while attempting to cross Kenya’s Mara River during an annual migration.
The deaths, which occurred over the course of several days last week, are said to account for about one percent of the total species population.
The drownings created a grotesque wildlife pileup, after part of the migrating herd tried to ford the Mara at “a particularly treacherous crossing point,†according to Terilyn Lemaire, a conservation worker with the Mara Conservancy who witnessed the incident.
10,000 Wildebeest Drown in Migration “Pileupâ€
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