Extreme heatwave in Australia kills 90 wild horses

Canberra | At least 90 wild horses were killed due to an extreme heatwave in Australia.

The Northern Territory state’s Central Land Council (CLC) said on Thursday that Rangers found the dead and dying animals in a dried-up waterhole near Alice Springs last week after their absence was noted by a remote community, the BBC reported.

About 40 of the animals had already died from dehydration and starvation. Surviving horses were later culled, the CLC added.

Another 120 feral horses, donkeys and camels “dying from thirst” will also be culled in a neighbouring community, CLC Director David Ross told the BBC.

Temperatures in Alice Springs have exceeded 42 degrees Celsius for almost two weeks – more than 6 degrees above January’s average, according to the Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology.

The extreme weather follows the record-breaking heatwave that produced five of Australia’s 10 warmest days on record.

Several other wildlife species have also suffered, including reports of mass deaths of native bats in New South Wales.

Up to a million fish have been found dead along river banks in the drought-affected state.

Published on : Jan 24, 2019 at 13:48 IST

IANS