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 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 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>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>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.



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Sofia is tormented by a secret she yearns to share with Tom, but the cruel events grab the limelight and put everything else in the shade. One of the native Khoi-San families is known to communicate with wild animals, but what if the criminals get wind of this gift?

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The Rhino Whisperer captures the spirit of Africa and shows how crime and corruption are linked to rhino poaching.

Evadeen Brickwood grew up with two sisters in Germany and studied cultural sciences and languages. As a young woman, she travelled extensively and many of her books are inspired by her experiences abroad. Feeling adventurous, the newly qualified translator moved to Africa in 1988 and worked for two years as a secretary and language teacher in Botswana. The author eventually settled in South Africa, where she got married and raised two daughters. In Johannesburg, Evadeen Brickwood studied computers and management of training and worked as a corporate software trainer, professional translator and lecturer at WITS University.</s>Rhino Hero (HABA, 2011) is not a wargame. It is a dexterity card game that can be played in less than 15 minutes. It features a cute Rhino with a cape. Why on earth would such a kids game be popular in the Grognard RockyMountainNavy house?

Because it’s a GREAT game. And after nearly 40 plays it continues to amaze.

Case in point. This weekend the RockyMountainNavy Boys wanted to play a game after Sunday dinner. Being a school night we couldn’t get into something too deep as they still needed to do their evening chores and otherwise get ready. So we pulled Rhino Hero out.

The last time we played we set a new family record of 13 levels. This time we started out reaching 12 levels before collapse. We then reset for another round.

As we started the next building, it quickly became obvious that many 2-wall cards were coming out with very few Rhino cards (which forces placement of the Rhino pawn). We kept building and building until we got to the 15th level…and ran out of walls.

Puzzled, Youngest RMN asked, “What do we do now?” I consulted the rulebook and discovered – we won! None of us knew this rule because we had NEVER reached this situation before!

Feeling giddy with excitement, Middle RMN Boy pulled out a Rhino card he was still holding. Placing it gently upon the top of the tower, he then just as carefully placed Rhino Hero atop the tower. We all then basked in the glory of the win.

So…now that we know we can “beat” Rhino Hero the next challenge is to do the same in Rhino Hero – Super Battle. Wish us luck!</s>The Scotts Hill Lions basketball team continues to compete in tough matchups but has failed to push through and win, since they won at Riverside two weeks ago. That downward trend continued this past week, with three tough losses for the Lions. The Lions started out their long week on the road, in Selmer, taking on McNairy Central. In the first quarter, the Lions stayed shot for shot with McNairy Central. However trailing, the Lions were…

For the complete story, see the January 30th edition of The Lexington Progress.</s>Pound for pound, rhino horns are more valuable than gold or cocaine. On the black market, where horns are often shipped from Africa to Asia for use in traditional medicine, they can sell for $65,000 a kilo. That’s bad news for rhinos, of course: This year is on track for a record number of poached animals. Last year, 1,215 rhinos were killed in South Africa alone.

A new startup called Pembient is attempting to tackle the problem through biotech. Using a little synthetic rhino horn DNA and a series of chemical reactions, they’re able to create fake rhino horns that have the same genetic fingerprint as the real thing. The fake horns will be used in everything from rhino horn beer to rhino skin cream.

Here’s an ad touting the skin cream to Vietnamese consumers who might otherwise buy actual rhino horn lotion:

Ultimately, Pembient plans to flood the market for rhino horn, undercutting the price poachers can get and forcing them out. “We’re like the universal cutting agent,” says Matthew Markus, CEO of Pembient. “In the drug trade, usually a cutting agent is something that’s cheaper and inferior to the product being cut. But if we can offer something as good as the product being cut but vastly cheaper, then anyone in the trade will naturally gravitate to using our product.”

Some nonprofits argue that looking identical is actually a bad thing, because law enforcement officials may not be able to tell if a product is poached or okay. So the company is also considering adding a DNA watermark to the fake horns that officials could use for identification.

Pembient is moving quickly to bring its fake horns to market, beginning with a partnership with one of Beijing’s largest breweries to make a rhino horn beer that will launch later this year. (Rhino horn has a reputation as a hangover cure, and is already used–on a smaller, illegal scale–in homemade spirits). The startup also developed a skin care line it plans to spin off, and will supply the product to traditional medicine pharmacies in places like China. The synthetic rhino horn will be sold as a branded ingredient in other products, like the Gore-Tex of the Asian supplement market.

The product will be sold as a powder and in horn form. In the last couple of months, while in residence at the San Francisco-based biotech accelerator IndieBio, the company figured out how to 3-D print powder into the shape of horns.
Two lions, two hyenas, a rhino and a giraffe are killed at Kruger National Park, South Africa, after storms topple a power cable.