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More than 80 buffaloes have died after trampling over each other and drowning in the Chobe River, Namibia’s environment ministry has confirmed.
The animals were being chased by lions in Botswana when they plunged from a steep riverbank into the water on the Namibian side of the border, the ministry said in a statement.
Mass buffalo deaths are not unusual in the region. In 2018, about 400 were killed in a similar incident in Botswana’s Chobe National Park, a renowned wildlife destination home to large populations of elephants, buffaloes and giraffes.
Mbeha Tadeus of Namibia’s Kabulabula Conservancy said that such stampedes often occur when buffalo herds fleeing predators attempt to cross into Namibia.
“Whenever they are chased by lions, they try to cross over into Namibia and end up trampling over each other,” he explained.
Ndeshipanda Hamunyela, spokesperson for Namibia’s Environment, Forestry and Tourism Ministry, confirmed the herd had come from Botswana but could not say whether they originated from Chobe National Park.
The ministry said the meat from the carcasses would be distributed to nearby communities. Footage shared by Namibia’s public broadcaster showed residents carving up the buffaloes and sharing the meat along the riverbanks.
The media reported that as many as 90 buffaloes may have been killed, with the incident occurring at around 05:00 local time (07:00 GMT).
