Six animals have been electrocuted at South Africa’s largest national park after a storm caused a power cable to come crashing down.

A rhino, a giraffe, two lions and two hyenas were killed when the power line came down in Kruger National Park last Friday.

The giraffe and rhino reportedly died first while the lions and hyenas were killed by the live wire while trying to eat the carcasses.

The animals were found by rangers while taking engineers to the site to restore electricity.

Spokesman for South Africa National Parks, Isaac Phaahla, said the animals died in the Skukuza section of the park.

‘The animals were electrocuted after heavy rain and strong winds brought down a power line,’ he told the BBC. </s> Six animals in South Africa’s Kruger National Park were electrocuted after a power line came down when heavy rain and strong winds hit the region last week.

The animals — a giraffe, two lions, two hyenas and a white rhino — were found dead in the Skukuza section of the wildlife reserve Friday, the BBC reported.

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"The animals were electrocuted after heavy rains and strong winds brought down a power line," South Africa National Parks (SANParks) spokesman Isaac Phaahla told the news site.

Phaahla also told news24 that park rangers were called to the scene of the downed power line to access the damage and make repairs. They discovered the dead animals when they were attempting to drive away a lion feeding on the rhino carcass, according to the station.

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Rangers believe the giraffe was electrocuted, which prompted the lions and hyenas to flock to the dead animal and come in contact with the live power line. </s> Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Two lions were among the animals that died (file picture)

Six large animals have died at South Africa's biggest national park after storms toppled a power cable.

A rhino, a giraffe, two lions and two hyenas were electrocuted when the power line came down in Kruger National Park.

Local media report that the giraffe and rhino died first, and the lions and hyenas were killed by the live wire while trying to eat the carcasses.

Rangers came across the disturbing scene while taking engineers to the site to restore electricity.

Isaac Phaahla, a spokesman for South Africa National Parks (SANParks), told the BBC the animals died last Friday in the Skukuza section of the park.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Kruger National Park rangers discovered the animals while accompanying electricians (file image)

"The animals were electrocuted after heavy rains and strong winds brought down a power line," he said.

At almost 20,000 sq km (7,700 sq miles), the Kruger National Park is the country's largest wildlife reserve.

On Tuesday, a spokesman told reporters 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. </s> Six large animals were electrocuted and killed at a park in South Africa in what officials described as “a freak accident,” ABC News reported.

A storm knocked over a power line inside Kruger National Park on Friday. A live cable electrocuted and killed a giraffe and a white rhino, as well as two lions and two hyenas who were trying to feed on the carcasses.

The world-renowned park is one of Africa’s largest game reserves. </s> At least five animals, including a giraffe and a white rhino, have been killed in a freak accident after an Eskom pylon collapsed in the Kruger National Park near Skukuza over the weekend.

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.

While inspecting the powerline, Eskom workers discovered a lion feeding on the carcass of a dead rhino.

SANParks spokesperson Ike Phaahle said the section rangers were called in to drive the lion away, so that the live powerline, which was lying on the ground, could be repaired.

During further inspection, rangers found a dead giraffe, two hyenas and a lion close to the rhino carcass.

It is suspected that the giraffe was electrocuted, and that the lion and hyenas were killed by live cable while trying to feed on the carcass.

The rhino's horns were removed and taken in for safekeeping at a secret storage facility in Skukuza where all other horns are kept.



KEEP UPDATED on the latest news by subscribing to our FREE newsletter. </s> Six large animals were electrocuted to death at South Africa's biggest national park in what officials described as "a freak accident."

A heavy storm toppled a power line in the Skukuza section of Kruger National Park last Friday, exposing a live cable that killed a giraffe and a white rhino, according to park spokesman Isaac Phaahla.

Two lions and two hyenas were also electrocuted while trying to feed on the carcasses.

"I think they also touched the live wire," Phaahla told ABC News via telephone Wednesday. "It is a freak accident."

Park rangers discovered the dead animals the following day. The rhino's horns were removed for safekeeping, according to Phaahla.

The world-renowned Kruger National Park is one of Africa's largest game reserves. It spans more than 7,523 square miles, roughly the size of Israel. </s> A tiger killed a zookeeper in an enclosure at Hamerton Zoo Park in the hamlet of Steeple Gidding, near Cambridge, United Kingdom, on Monday morning, according to a post on the Cambridgeshire Constabulary's Facebook page. The animal never escaped its enclosure, and the incident is not deemed suspicious, police say. </s> A high court in Zimbabwe dropped charges against a professional hunter who led the expedition that killed Cecil the lion in 2015. Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Twitter

HARARE, Zimbabwe, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- A high court in Zimbabwe dropped charges against a professional hunter who led an expedition that killed a beloved lion named Cecil, sparking international outrage of the death of the big cat and a call for a ban of trophy hunting.

The court ruled the charges against Theo Bronkhorst, including failing to prevent an illegal hunt, were "too vague to enable him to mount a proper defense." Bronkhorst led the expedition that included Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer, who paid some $50,000 to shoot the animal and skin it. Officials said Cecil was lured from Zimbabwe's largest game reserve, Hwange National Park, where it is illegal to shoot animals, and killed July 1, 2015.

Bronkhorst's attorney, Perpetua Dube, said the high court judge decided "the charges as they were brought at that time were not properly constituted."

"He's agreed with us on that point. And that is all there is to it," she said. "It's not an acquittal, so it doesn't have that effect."

Zimbabwe officials originally said they would charge Palmer but later dropped the plan. </s> The tragic zookeeper mauled to death by a tiger today at a Cambridgeshire zoo has been named.

Rosa King, 33, was killed when one of the centre's four tiger got into an enclosure where she was working at Hamerton Zoo Park, near Huntingdon.

Desperate colleagues tried hurling meat towards the tiger in a bid to distract it but Rosa could not be saved and was declared dead at the zoo.

“She would walk in the cheetah cage and play football with them. She was at home with them.”

Her screams for help were heard by Pete Davies, 55, who was there with his partner and son.

“We were at the tiger enclosure and there was a guy who was ahead of us with a camera taking photos of animals," he said.

“He was in the next closure, he came running past us really quickly. Then he came back with a few zoo keepers to the viewing area of where the tiger was, and then we heard a girl screaming and another one said run to us so we found a small room and stayed there until it was safe to leave.

“The zoo keepers had their heads in their hands, and didn’t know what to do, throwing meat over the enclosure to entice the tiger away. They shouted stuff.

“It went on for too long. Then we were ushered out and left."

Police and the ambulance service were called to the zoo at 11.15am this morning.

A statement from Hamerton Park Zoo read: “This appears to have been a freak accident.

“A full investigation is under way and we hope that more details can be announced as soon as we are able.

“At no point during the incident did any animals escape their enclosures, and at no point was public safety affected in any way.

“All our thoughts and sympathies are with our colleagues, friends and families at this dreadful time."

The zoo is a 25-acre wildlife park that has about 500 animals including monkeys, cheetahs, raccoons, sloth and a collection of Malaysian tigers and white tigers.

Hamerton will be closed for tomorrow (May 29) at least while investigations continue.
Two lions, two hyenas, a rhino and a giraffe are killed at Kruger National Park, South Africa, after storms topple a power cable.