At least six animals, a rhino, a giraffe, two lions and two hyenas were electrocuted over the weekend when an Eskom power line came down in Kruger National Park, South Africa’s biggest national park.
The animals were electrocuted when the pylon fell during a heavy storm on Friday night in the southern part of the park, exposing a live wire. The downed electrical cable was discovered when Eskom teams were called out to sort out a power failure at the Skukuza camp.
The park’s spokesperson Isaac Phaahla said the section rangers were called in to drive the lion away, so that the live power line, which was lying on the ground, could be repaired.
Rangers came across the disturbing scene while taking engineers to the site to restore electricity
According to Local media reports, the giraffe and rhino died first, and the lions and hyenas were killed by the live wire while trying to eat the carcasses.
The spokesman further told the reporters that the park had reports of four other dead animals in January so far. “Two of them have been confirmed as poached, and two of them are under investigation,” he said.
The rhino’s horns were removed and taken in for safekeeping at a secret storage facility in Skukuza where all other horns are kept.
